Awkward personal hygiene habit that can get you thrown off a flight
There's much discussion about the etiquette people display while traveling on holiday, with you seeing all sorts while flying in the sky – and we don't just mean those joining the Mile High Club.
Even for those who don't have a fear of flying, getting on a plane can be a pretty stressful experience.
When not dodging influencers trying to test out their ridiculous 'airport theory', you have to deal with scanners exposing your genitals, and potential delays due to ever-changing rules. That's before you even get on the plane.
After sitting on the runway for hours, you then have to contend with people wandering around barefoot, someone next to you changing a baby on the seat, and the kitchen running out of the only meal you wanted after your screen stopped working.
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Flying 'stinks', but for some, that might be a little more literal.
In the aftermath of United Airlines' updated Contract of Carrier guidelines adding the ability to throw people off a plane for undertaking the frankly selfish practice of 'barebeating' (listening to music without the use of headphones), there's a reminder that you can also be removed from a flight for creating a 'malodorous condition'.
While the airline reminds us that "individuals qualifying as disabled" are exempt from the rules, it has raised the question of personal hygiene on flights.
We imagine there were plenty of malodorous conditions when the toilets on an 11-hour Virgin Atlantic flight apparently broke down. Still, in conditions where you can help with what constitutes a malodorous condition, we advise you do it.
For those questioning whether United Airlines enforces its rules on malodorous conditions, The Washington Post reported on a case in 2018 where a Nigerian woman filed a case after someone complained about her 'pungen' odor.
Elsewhere, the BBC discussed a 2020 incident where a Michigan family was removed from a UA flight over complaints about the patriarch's body odor. In that case, Yehuda Yosef Adler claimed he was booted off the flight on the grounds of discrimination due to his Orthodox Jewish faith.
United Airlines isn't alone in its war against scents, with American Airlines stating that you have to "be respectful that your odor isn't offensive (unless it's caused by a disability or illness)."
Delta can similarly divert a flight or remove a passenger who has a malodorous odor. This reared its head in an unfortunate 2023 incident when one of its flights had to head back to Atlanta just two hours into a flight to Spain due to a passenger's "onboard medical emergency" with diarrhea.
It's not just US airlines that are known to have rules like this, with Air Canada mentioning offensive odors "such as from a draining wound."
The idea of what constitutes a 'bad' smell is subjective, so we're even told to be careful about what kind of perfume we wear before boarding a flight. You might think that expensive bottle of Tom Ford smells great, but if someone complains and it's classed as malodorous, you could find yourself paying a lot more for a new flight.