The Internet Has Spoken: Reddit Data Reveals the World’s Biggest Airport Annoyances

 

A new analysis of Reddit discussions has revealed the most frustrating aspects of air travel — and it’s not just the long security lines. Jessie Chambers, travel expert at Global Work & Travel, reviewed over 5,000 comments across high-engagement Reddit threads in r/travel, r/flights, r/Airports and r/flightattendants. By coding and categorising recurring themes, the most mentioned airport and inflight irritations were ranked by frequency. Ranking: The Most Common Airport & Flight Annoyances on Reddit Rank Annoyance Share of Mentions (%) Reddit Insight 1 Rude / entitled passengers 22% “They literally treat crew as servants.” 2 Security & screening frustrations 18% “Nothing like an a-hole tearing apart all my stuff on the floor.” 3 Overcrowded airports (LAX, JFK) 15% “Absolute chaos – gates way too small for the crowds.” 4 Children disrupting flights 12% “WAAAAAAY too many kids hyped up about the House of Mouse.” 5 Drunk / rowdy groups (esp. Ibiza) 9% “Ibiza passengers are the worst – stag parties gone wild.” 6 Outdated facilities (Dulles) 8% “Dingy corridors, 70s shuttles – it hasn’t changed in decades.” 7 Decline in airline service 7% “Every airline feels worse post-pandemic.” 8 Delays & cancellations 6% “Delay rates of 25–35% are killing travel.” 9 Inconsistent policies 3% “Rules change every time depending on airline/airport.” Base: ~5,000 Reddit comments across top-ranked travel etiquette threads (2024–2025). Mentions categorised by theme; percentages reflect share of coded complaints. Methodology Analysed posts and comment threads from r/travel, r/flights, r/Airports and r/flightattendants. Timeframe: Jan 2024 – Aug 2025. Only threads with >500 upvotes or >100 comments were included, ensuring discussion was “viral” enough to reflect broad opinion. Comments were coded thematically into categories (e.g. “children,” “security,” “service quality”). Share of mentions calculated by relative frequency of categories across all coded data. Expert Commentary Jessie Chambers, Global Work & Travel: “Reddit isn’t a scientific survey, but it is one of the clearest windows into traveller frustrations because people speak freely and anonymously. Looking at the data, entitlement and rudeness top the list globally — more than queues, more than delays. It’s a reminder that for many passengers, other people are the hardest part of travel.” About Global Work & Travel Global Work & Travel is one of the world’s leading youth and student travel brands, helping travellers explore the globe through working holidays, internships, volunteer projects and cultural experiences across more than 100 destinations. ENDS