Survey pinpoints the behavior on planes that people find most annoying
Here's what travelers think about shared armrests, reclined seats and fellow passengers' use of tech on planes.
August 25, 2026 / 5:56 PM EDT / CBS News
The close quarters on planes and variable public views on appropriate flight etiquette are a recipe for tension. But travelers seem to agree on who is to blame for bad behavior in the air: other travelers, according to a new survey .
The top source of friction in the air: passengers using cellphones, laptops and other personal technology to make phone or video calls or to watch television shows or movies without using headphones, the poll of 2,500 U.S. adults by travel site The Points Guy (TPG) and YouGov found.
According to the survey, 40% of passengers think airlines should ban phone and video calls aboard an aircraft, with 27% citing such noise as the most annoying passenger behavior.
"It happens in the preboarding areas, too, where people sit on their phones watching videos on full blast," TPG managing editor Becky Blaine told CBS News. "And it can't be pinpointed by age demographic. You see kids on iPads, all the way up to older people on cellphones."
Airlines are well aware that their customers are sensitive to noise coming from their neighbors' devices. In March, United Airlines amended its policies to require that all passengers wear headphones when listening to audio from a personal electronic device. That includes scrolling social media feeds that emit audio.