Psychologist explains why more people are losing their tempers on planes

A PSYCHOLOGIST has revealed why more people seem to be losing their tempers onboard planes.

Videos of passengers losing their rag in the cabin have become increasingly common on social media.

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These disputes include arguing over who gets the armrests, and which passenger has control of the window blind.

According to chartered clinical psychologist Dr Kate Mason, from the Roots Psychology Group, there is a good reason why tempers between passengers seem to be rising more often.

Dr Kate Mason told Sun Online Travel: “Holidays can cause quite a lot of stress, especially if you’ve been looking forward to the holiday and spent a lot of time-saving up.”

She explained how organising flights, accommodation, and activities can be very overwhelming for some holidaymakers.

But once these plans have been completely arranged, there’s an expectation that everything will run smoothly.

Dr Mason added: “People expect that the holiday will be perfect and are more prone to losing their temper if it doesn’t go to plan.

“Normally, people have worked flat out for their holiday and will feel frustrated if something goes wrong.

“For example, if you’ve paid for an extra legroom seat on the plane you expect to get one.

“But say, on the day, you get on the plane and that seat isn’t available, or there’s no space in the overhead bin for your bag, then people can become angry.”

Dr Mason said that some passengers lose their temper because they believe it’s their right to have the perfect holiday and aren’t flexible to any change.

She added: “People expect the holiday to go well, so when something does go wrong they’re wondering what else could go wrong too.

“In the last couple of years, people have been trapped in the UK throughout various lockdowns with many people excited for their first foreign holiday in a while.

“And because many families only have one holiday a year, it needs to be perfect.”

In a bid to keep passengers both calm and relaxed, some airlines will play specific genres of music when people are boarding.

David Scotland, the in-flight entertainment and connectivity product manager for Alaska Airlines, said: “We never want the music to take centre stage at any time during the boarding process.

“We don’t want it to be a distraction. It needs to complement what’s going on in the aircraft environment.”

Meanwhile, Dr Mason has also explained why people return to the same return to the same holiday destination year after year.

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