Airline passenger reignites etiquette debate over wearing shoes and socks on flights

For most people, sitting on a crowded plane is not exactly fun. But one passenger stated that the only way to make it more fun is to ban taking off shoes and socks.

The user, who posted under the name MilitaryBaker, shared his thoughts on a Reddit post, sparking a heated debate on the issue.

The disgruntled pilot wrote the following on the subreddit Unpopular Opinion: “You shouldn’t be allowed to take off your shoes or socks on a plane.”

“Airplanes are one of the smelliest places you can be anyway,” the user wrote.

They acknowledged that while it is “more comfortable,” some people’s feet are “literally unbearable.”

In a post on the subreddit Unpopular Opinion, the disgruntled pilot wrote: “You shouldn’t be allowed to take off your shoes or socks on a plane” (stock image)

‘There was someone sitting behind me on the plane home last night and I almost threw up. I had to breathe in the smell of his stinky feet for two hours.’

The post was flooded with responses from travelers sharing their own experiences.

“I had a similar experience, I spent the entire flight thinking about how to tell them to put their shoes back on. But I also didn’t know exactly who the culprit was. And I probably would have been too scared to say anything,” one user explained.

‘Freshly washed socks on freshly washed feet under the chair in front of them, fine. Anything else, no,’ agreed another.

“Planes are one of the most stinking places anyway… what kind of flights do you take?” asked another.

‘I always think it stinks on the plane, but maybe it’s because of someone sitting next to me, I don’t know.

“I always wear a scarf that smells like clean laundry and put it over my nose when I have a smell. I once sat next to someone who had really dirty hair and smelled like dirty, greasy hair. It was torture to be stuck next to that for an entire flight across the country.”

While it may help you relax on board, flight attendants often advise their followers to never take your shoes off on a plane, even if you are wearing socks. You could accidentally step on “bodily fluids” in your shoes when you go to the toilet.

The post was flooded with responses from travelers sharing their own experiences

According to two different flight attendants, the floors on planes are extremely dirty – sometimes even covered in urine.

“Sometimes you don’t see water on the bathroom floor,” Leysha Perez, a Delta crewmember, told Insider. “It’s probably bodily fluids that you’re walking in.”

“Please wear shoes,” agreed another flight attendant who works for a major U.S. airline but whose identity was withheld for privacy reasons.

“It’s disgusting to walk around the plane barefoot or even with socks on.”

Another woman, Danielle, who works for Emirates, went viral on TikTok last October when she posted a similar comment on her account, listing five things she would never do if she were to travel as a passenger.

Her top thing? Going to the bathroom ‘without shoes on.’

She shared: ‘It may look like water on the floor, but trust me guys, it’s not. I’m sure you can guess what it is.’

Other things on Danielle’s list included falling asleep with your face against the window – since “hundreds, if not thousands” have touched the window before you – touching things in the bathroom with your bare hands, and using the toilet tray without sanitizing it.

She also warned against “joining the mile high club.”