What is the worst flight you have ever been on?

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Back in the late 80's I was on a flight between StL MO and NYC (JFK). OMG it was during a major thunderstorm. The plane was rocking, there was like this plastic grid thing on the ceiling that was shaking. Screaming kids, lots of dinging noises... It was my first flight so yea, not the best introduction to air travel.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

I had an engine catch fire, in a snow storm, with weather at or below landing visibility, a week before Christmas once….

does that count?

 

[Carol_]

Aeroflot in the 80s. Communist run. Nicknamed “The Balsa Wood Airline” by a fellow traveler.

 

[cvjw]

Flight from Cancun to atlanta. Flew thru the Gulf of Mexico. Thru a tropical storm. Worst flight ever. You could see lightning strikes out both sides of the plane. Severe turbulence. Flight dropping over and over. My oldest was in elementary school and really into roller coasters. He had his hands up and was overjoyed at the ride - felt like one continuous roller coaster ride to him. Had no idea what was really going on!

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

My trip to Ireland both coming and going was not the fault of Delta.

On the way into Dublin some of the worst turbulence ever. I’m talking close to a half hour of shaking and nerve wracking descent.


Turns out I got a sinus infection while there (I was in a walking boot due to a broken ankle that was in the final healing stages, so my immune system was already not good). On descent back in the US, I got the most excruciating pain all in my head and sinus cavities. To the point I had to take two of my emergency Tylenol because of the headache it gave me. I had little issue ascending, just some mild pain in my sinus cavity. But it was bad. I was crying.

But again not delta’s fault.


If you read my DLR/Southern California trip report, you will read about the chaos that was our return trip home via American

 

[RoseGold]

A couple years before Covid, I flew a discount European Airline. I got on the plane and it was OLD. Like from a movie set of a crashed plane or something. Filthy, disgusting seats, shudder. I talked myself into staying on it because the flight was only 90 minutes.

It was an old Southwest jet, and it had the giant Southwest logo from two logos ago, even on the seats. I tried to date it exactly and I figured it had to be late 80s or early 90s. The flight was 90 minutes of terror. It's the only time I was scared to be on a plane.

And the only plane I've been on where people have kids with no iPads. Who gives an 8 year old a book on a plane? Very 90s experience all around.

But it was on time and cheap, bags made it. So, I guess as a flight it was overall successful.

 

[HopperFan]

Worst flights used to mean weather to me. But you know after watching so many videos of "worst flights" I am so happy and thankful that I do not have to get on a plane unless I want to. I haven't flown since 2014, BY CHOICE mostly ... 2020 COVID cancelled my flight to Disneyland. Right now the thought of being on a plane with all these crazy people just escalates my concern with flying. DH DS and DD fly no issues .... I just wave goodbye.

We missed our DL trip and our DL Paris trip that got cancelled before even booked ............ and I am very torn if I even want to go anymore ... simply because of the plane - so much happening right now.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I've only had one flight where the turbulence was really bad. I was flying from Frankfurt to Sofia on Wizz Air, which is hands down the worst airline out there. I don't think you could get any lower than them. I wouldn't be surprised if the wings were made of cardboard and glued onto the plane. The turbulence was so bad that for a moment I did fear for my life. It didn't help that a 2 year old was sitting behind me and was nonstop screaming from the boarding area in the airport until we landed in Bulgaria.

Other than turbulence, I've been on flights that have had screaming kids and obnoxious drunk people, but nothing more extreme than that. When I flew to Tokyo, the woman sitting next to me kept bothering me because she wanted some of the snacks I brought (chips and some candy) for her daughter (who was maybe 15-16?). I ignored her but that was SUPER annoying.

 

[RogueX]

Aeroflot in the 80s. Communist run. Nicknamed “The Balsa Wood Airline” by a fellow traveler.
View attachment 743718

When I was a travel agent, I had a client who had to book a flight to Vladivostok and complained the entire time about Aeroflot. His colorful description was a tin can death trap that barely functioned.

I asked him after all was said and done why was he going to Vladivostok then if he hated making the trip. His answer: I hate the airline, I hate the trip but I love my mother.

 

[GAN]

For me it’s either the Paris-Boston flight where the pill-popping drunk woman beat up the retired cop behind me mid-flight…this after tossing racial slurs towards a middle-eastern woman wearing a hijab. The good thing about that was the stewardess looked at me and said “the booze is over there, help yourself.” So I played bartender for a half hour while they did something that put her to sleep and moved the cop and his wife downstairs somewhere.

That, or the flight from Providence-NJ in a puddle jumper after a major wind storm… so strong it blew a window open in my home that morning. I thought it would be cancelled but they got us up there. At about 1000ft the plane literally dropped 250ft, then it continued to bang, shake, shift, rock, drop and every other possible move for an hour an 20 minutes straight. At one point, I looked out the window and we chopped up a flock of birds. A woman in front of me was screaming hysterically, this was her FIRST flight . With about 20 minutes to go I looked at the guy next to me and said, “if they don’t land this soon I’m gonna puke all over this plane” and he looked at me and said “I thought I was the only one!”

 

[longboard55]

we went a cheap airline to Hawaii, on the way out and the way back it started down the run way and stopped. First because it was too loaded to fly and back because of a flat tire. And it took hours to fix because they had limited support. After that I concluded never to save on airflights, get the best flight possible.

 

[MamaLema]

I have a severe fear of flying but I refuse to let it keep me from seeing the world so…every flight is the worst flight.

 

[EACarlson]

Flying from ORD-LAS last year and Vegas was having a horrible windstorm day, many of the Strip business had their outside doors locked to stop the sand from blowing in. Couldn't even see the mountains kind of day. Get down to about a 1,000 ft AGL and start feeling the wind buffeting the plane all over the place, plane feels like it's moving 10-15 feet and the wings are rocking back and forth. Get it on the ground, just left of the centerline and a gust comes up and pushes us far enough to the right that I can see the centerline out my left side window. I've never been so happy to get a slowly moving taxi speed.

 

[Sabrina Carter]

Going on a school trip to Paris. We were a few hours into the flight when we hit severe turbulence, some overhead compartments came open, drink cart rolled down the aisle, just chaotic. I was reclined because it was an overnight flight and got thrown head first into the seat back tray. Imagine having TWA etched on your head from the impact.

Fortunately things calmed down and we did make it to Paris safely. I prefer my flights to be uneventful.

It cracks me up how you've described your head etching. I hope you were okay.

 

[RogueX]

It cracks me up how you've described your head etching. I hope you were okay.

Yeah, I was okay. I have a tough head. But man, to have that on your forehead....very unfortunate. Atleast I can laugh about it.

 

[adkkev]

First trip to Alaska to visit our son and future DIL … flying into the old Detroit airport on a NW MD88. Seemed weird as we were approaching Detroit that the plane started circling back over Lake Erie and the Canadian countryside. This went on for a while and then the pilot comes on the intercom and announces that a warning light indicated that one of the landing gear hadn’t locked pin place. The copilot comes through the cabin and lifts up a floor panel to see if he can tell if the gear is locked (interesting enough that they could even do that), nope, can’t tell. So we circle for quite some time dumping fuel. Then the FAs start instructing us on the brace position and a “chant” ( three words, can’t remember what they were) as we started to descend. Landed safely, everyone applauded, mechanics came and pounded something into the landing gear to make sure it didn’t collapse. Then it’s a slow crawl to the terminal as they towed us from the runway furthest from the terminal. We just missed our connection to Anchorage so they put us on a later flight to Seattle, overnighted in a hotel there, and then flew on to Anchorage the next morning.
Another time flying to Denver for a Vet Tech conference that my wife was attending. We were the last plane out of the Albany airport before they closed it due to heavy snow. Made it to Detroit, no issues. Next flight to Denver … go to pick up luggage, not there. Gave the airline our information about where we were staying, etc. We had not packed any clothes in our carryon backpacks. (Never again!). Made it to our hotel, no luggage delivered by morning. Wife goes to conference, I spend time in downtown Denver. We returned to our hotel still no luggage. So we drove to Walmart and bought clothes. Several days worth of clothes. Luggage arrives the evening of our second day there. Our flight/ travel insurance paid for all our clothing purchases.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

The worst was probably a flight from Chicago to California after a business trip. The flight was fine, but I had a cold and the pressure from the descent and landing made me feel like my head was going to explode. The pain was so bad that I thought I was going to pass out. I was alone on the flight except for two co-workers who had upgraded to first class while I was back in coach. I almost rang for the flight attendant at one point, but I toughed it out until we landed and the pain went away.

Another flight wasn't bad so much as highly annoying! We were flying from California to Florida to drop our son off to college. The emotional part of that was hard enough. But when we got on the plane, I discovered that my seatback TV was broken! No way was I flying for that long without a TV! I mentioned it to the flight attendant and he said, "Yes, that one is is broken, but I can reseat you after everyone is on-board." He came later and moved me to an exit row aisle seat with no one in the middle! It was awesome since my moving also left the middle seat between my adult sons open. I turned on the TV and settled in to relax for the flight, only to realize the family near me was going to be a challenge!

There was a young couple in front of me with a baby (who didn't turn out to be a problem at all!). Across the aisle was grandma and grandpa, who I figured out were the mom's parents. The baby's dad sat in his window seat without moving for the entire flight. He slept, watched TV, wore his headphones and basically seemed to tune out the fact that his wife and child even existed. Mom, grandma and grandpa took turns holding the baby, but grandma and grandpa kept arguing over not getting equal time! At one point the baby fell asleep with grandma and the mom stood in the aisle next to her for nearly an hour while the baby slept. It was kind of ridiculous. Then grandpa decided it was his turn and started trying to pull the baby out of grandma's arms. A low-key argument ensured, but I couldn't understand their language so I can only guess what they were saying. Then grandma took the baby to the empty exit row behind me and mom followed. They laid the baby in the middle seat between them until a flight attendant came along and told them they couldn't have the baby in an exit row and to return to their seats. So mom let grandpa have the baby and sat in her seat in front of me. Next thing I knew, mom tossed her rather long hair over the seat back and it completely covered my TV screen! I waited for a minute to see if she would shift positions, but no, she put her head back like she wanted to sleep. I leaned forward and tapped her on the arm and said, "Excuse me. I can't see my TV with your hair on it." She said OK and quickly moved it. The rest of the flight consisted of the mom getting up to look at or stand next to the baby when her parents had her. Mom also trekked up and down the aisle like every 30 minutes to get water for herself and her parents. I'm sure the flight attendants enjoyed her visits to their station in the back. They brought their own lunches which didn't smell very nice in an enclosed airplane. My older son came up and said, "Hey! You got extra legroom! Want to trade seats?" I almost took him up on it. But my older son has autism and sometimes has strong reactions to annoying people who make noise and invade his space. I didn't want to leave him in that situation, so I said no, you're better of back there with your brother.

We took many more trips to Florida after that to visit our son at school. Luckily, I never had a flight as annoying as that one!

 

[DodgerGirl]

The worst flight my family encountered was when we were flying to Oklahoma to visit my godfather for the summer and we were halfway there and the plane suddenly stopped and they wouldn't offer us food or drinks or anything and people were freaking out and my dad asked what was going on and they said it was bad weather that was delaying our arrival in Oklahoma City and we asked how long it was gonna last and they didn't know. And people were freaking out so much that there was even fights starting to the point where the flight attendants told the people that were fighting that they would be given a warning if they didn't stop fighting. But we got to Oklahoma with no problems but we learned our lesson with Southwest Airlines after that