Your Flight Attendant Will Hate if You Bring Any of These Foods On a Flight

Aside from the pilot, any well-seasoned traveller knows the last person you want to make an enemy of on a long plane ride is the flight attendant. This individual can singlehandedly make – or break – your in-flight experience, serving as the go-between for you and every mid-air convenience you might hope for while travelling. One of the most common complaints from flight attendants has to do with specific foods travellers bring onto the plane. To help you avoid any in-flight drama, we’re bringing you a breakdown of what kinds of foods to avoid bringing onto your next flight!

A flight attendant walks the galley of a plane holding a tray with a coffee mug and silver pot

Getty Images

1 / 10

Flight attendants hate: instant soup

A cup of instant soup might seem like a comforting snack on a long flight, but consider the process to making this a reality: how do you think your flight attendant feels about trekking back and forth down that narrow aisle with a small cup of noodles filled to the brim with boiling water? Not to mention the person in the seat next to you praying that there won’t be any turbulence as you eat your scalding soup…

We asked some flight attendants in the know to tell us about 13 of the biggest secrets in the biz. See what they had to say in this list of 13 flight attendant secrets you ought to know.

A food tray on a plane with discarded bits of food

Getty Images

2 / 10

Flight attendants hate: food you won’t be able to finish

It’s one thing to overestimate your stomach in the comfort of your own home, or at a restaurant – but in the air, excess waste is a pain, particularly the kind that won’t be properly disposed of until landing. Spare your flight attendant any extra cleanup, and consider your portions when packing in-flight snacks.

Staying on the good side of your flight attendant is one way to facilitate travel. Check out more expert tips to make travelling so much easier.

A passenger on a plane sits in his seat wearing headphones and messily biting into a sandwich in his hand

Getty Images

3 / 10

Flight attendants hate: messy meals

From crumbs to drips, there’s countless ways your meal can cause a mess. Aboard your flight, that only means more work for your flight attendant, who would much rather you keep your snacking neat and contained to your seat tray.

Looking to make the most of your trip? Don't forget any of these 20 things you should always travel with.

A man eats sushi with chopsticks aboard a flight

Getty Images

4 / 10

Flight attendants hate: strong-smelling foods

We all have particular preferences when it comes to food, and while you can’t please everyone when it comes to your palette, you can avoid making them nuts by forcing them to endure your stinky meal. Neither your flight attendant – nor your fellow travellers – will appreciate adding one more unwelcome odour into the mix on a crowded flight, so be considerate and choose snacks that are a little safer to the senses.

Getty Images

5 / 10

Flight attendants hate: loud foods

We understand you can’t be expected to consider every little noise you make aboard a several-hours-long flight – but take it from us, loud chewers stuffing crunchy potato chips into their mouths can get irritating to the people around you, including the flight attendant who’ll be expected to deal with those now-agitated travellers throughout the trip.

Aside from what you eat, did you know there’s a number of other ways you can accidentally irk your flight attendant? Check out our list of 20 things flight attendants don’t like you doing aboard a flight.

A man impatiently knocks at the door of an airplane lavatory

Getty Images

6 / 10

Flight attendants hate: foods that might upset your stomach

Why, you might ask, does it matter to your flight attendant if you happen to eat something that doesn’t agree with you during your flight? To put it delicately: whatever happens to your stomach mid-air will, in one way or another, affect everyone else on board. Understandably, we’re betting the flight attendant would prefer not to deal with complaints about your hogging the bathroom, or the consequences of a flight full of irritable passengers holding their nose as your gassy reaction to those cheese-fries takes over the air stream!

Sick of waiting for the bathroom? Pass the time with these 20 things to do next time you’re bored on a plane.

A woman eats a box of greasy fries and chicken

Getty Images

7 / 10

Flight attendants hate: greasy foods

For the same reason as messy foods, that extra grease will go straight from your food to your fingers to every surface you touch after. That means a bigger cleanup for your flight attendants, and some pretty nasty grease marks on that in-flight tablet you rented. Yuck! If you really can’t resist your greasy treats, be considerate and keep some wet wipes on hand for afterward.

A bowl of peanuts and an Epi-Pen on a table

Getty Images

8 / 10

Flight attendants hate: allergy-risk foods

Bringing peanuts and other high allergy-risk snacks aboard a flight is just plain inconsiderate. Your flight attendant will be fielding the drama and concern from passengers who might worry about reacting to your food. Not fun, and not the best way to kick off several hours cooped up in the air with those same fellow travellers. Plan ahead, always look into local regulations for what foods are permitted on board your flight, and consider how you might feel if you were the person – or parent of a child – who suffered from an allergy to one of the more popular high-risk foods.

For more, don't miss the secret language of flight attendants.

A young woman looks down at her meal aboard her flight

Getty Images

9 / 10

Flight attendants hate: assembly-required meals

Kudos to you for bringing on board those healthy odds and ends – and we applaud your efforts in wanting to make that meal “fresh” once you’re all settled into your seat – but let’s get real: any meal you plan to “assemble” in-flight will require the help of your flight attendant. Cutlery? Re-heating? Hot water? Just skip the headache and stick to the in-flight menu. Determined to eat your way? Pre-package your snacks in containers designed with separate compartments – that way, you can avoid the messy packaging and annoying assembly of your foods on the flight.

Bet you didn’t know… check out our list of facts you might not know about flying!

Getty Images

10 / 10

Flight attendants hate: any food you’re not supposed to bring on board

You may think you’ve pulled a fast one by sneaking your banned snacks on board, but all you’ve really done is put your flight attendant in the position of being the “bad guy” who now has to reprimand you for breaking the rules. Avoid the drama over unwelcome snacks and stick to the rules – it’s just not worth the hassle for everyone involved.

If all this travel talk has you thinking about your next trip, be sure to read up on 20 ways to save on your next flight!