An annoyed American Airlines pilot is going viral for lecturing passengers on how to behave on his flight: 'Nobody wants to hear your video'

02.08.2023 - 08:05 / insider.com / Sky News / Airlines

A video of an American Airlines pilot dressing down his passengers has gone viral after his speech was posted on Instagram last week.

"Be nice to each other, be respectful to each other. I shouldn't have to say that," the unnamed pilot can be heard saying over the flight intercom, according to a clip posted by comedian Anna Leah Maltezos. The Instagram Reel has been viewed more than 4.4 million times in six days.

As passengers continued boarding the plane, the pilot reminded them to treat flight attendants civilly.

"You will listen to what they have to say because they represent my will in the cockpit or in the cabin," he said. "And my will is what matters."

He added that he repeats the same points to "selfish and rude" passengers on "every single flight." 

"Stow your stuff. Get it out of everybody else's way. Put your junk where it belongs," the pilot said.

Then he took aim at passengers who use their phones at full volume without earphones. 

"The social experiment on listening to videos on speaker mode and talking on a cell phone on speaker mode? That is over," he announced. "Over and done in this country. Nobody wants to hear your video."

"I know you think it's super sweet, it probably is, but it's your business, right? So keep it to yourself," he added.

As a parting message, he also declared that everyone sitting in the middle spot should have access to both armrests. "That is my gift to you," he said.

His speech received a largely positive response in the video's comments.

"If you're offended by this speech, congrats, you're the problem," wrote one person.

Airlines have been plagued by a surge in unruly passenger incidents since air travel recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. At least 983 such episodes have occurred in the US so far this year, per the Federal Aviation Administration.

FAA research also shows that this year's air-rage incidents are at least 49% higher than pre-COVID levels, Insider's Anneta Konstantinides previously reported. Unruly passenger incidents in the UK in 2022 nearly tripled from 2019 to 1,028 reports, per Sky News.

This year, passengers have opened plane doors on their own, activated emergency slides at the airport, punched crew members, threatened to detonate a bomb, and diverted flights because of a dispute over their meals.

American Airlines and Maltezos did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.