Passenger slept through most of the flight and missed every service round — but what he told the attendant while deboarding left her stunned
Flight attendants work hard to make sure every passenger has a comfortable journey. But not every person seems to acknowledge that effort. For ex-flight attendant Rachel Leah Tia, who goes by @rachelleahtia, a flight almost brought her to tears after what a passenger said to her while deboarding. Tia shared the experience in an Instagram video posted on October 25, 2026, and explained that there was a passenger on the flight who slept almost the entire time. He didn't even wake up during food and drink service. While getting off the plane, he made a brief comment that left Tia in disbelief.
Tia explained that she had done several rounds of service during the flight, bringing passengers drinks and snacks and collecting trash multiple times. She was sure she had done her job properly, so she initially thought the man was joking when he walked toward the front of the plane and casually said, "Bad flight attendant." But he wasn't joking. The comment caught her off guard, and she immediately started going over every interaction she'd had with him, trying to figure out what she could possibly have done wrong. The funny thing was, the passenger had slept through most of the flight. Tia wondered if he had wanted a drink, perhaps a Diet Coke, but joked that she could not read his mind. She was upset because the man had made a hurtful remark without even giving her a chance to serve him.
Tia couldn't shake off the passenger's remark. She admitted she was already feeling emotional that day, and being called a bad flight attendant made her wonder if she'd somehow messed up. She eventually went into the bathroom, locked the door, and cried. She noted that if the man wanted a drink or a snack, he could have simply asked for it. Tia even joked that if all he wanted was a Diet Coke, she would happily mail him one!
Tia said she always makes sure that her passengers have the best experience. She even recalled serving a passenger who was travelling on what was supposed to be her anniversary trip, but she had lost her husband recently. Tia made sure to pamper her throughout the flight and even listened to her story, holding her hand. She even remembered crying with her.
What she experienced is a growing concern in the aviation industry as more and more flight attendants experience similar behavior from passengers. A 2021 survey by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which included nearly 5,000 flight attendants across 30 airlines, found that more than 85% had dealt with unruly passengers that year. Even more concerning, 58% had faced at least five such incidents, while 17% had experienced physical aggression. Tia's experience is far from isolated, and the study highlights how much flight attendants can face from passengers, even when they're doing their best to help.
Fortunately, despite the rude passengers, there are plenty of people who recognize the effort flight attendants put in. Tia's video made it to those kind people, and they shared so much love in the comments. @flywithgrace_l.a commented, "Calling you a bad FA after he slept the whole flight makes absolutely no sense. Don’t even worry about it; you are doing amazing!" @bbiilbilll wrote, "That man was very rude." @justabbymozzarella added, "Being a flight attendant made me hate people. I never want to work in customer service again."
For more stories, follow @rachelleahtia on Instagram.