Woman sparks debate about ‘plane etiquette’ after questioning why people rushed to exit

Despite many believing that etiquette is a universal knowledge, it often differs from person to person, sparking a huge debate.

Tipping etiquette in the United States or dining etiquette in several parts of Asia can be very easy to mess up and make yourself seem foolish or disrespectful.

The same can be said for airplane etiquette, which was the topic of discussion last year when a woman took to TikTok to share her pet peeve during her flight from Boston to Florida.

In the video, which has since gone viral, Mikayla (@mickeyyyt) took umbrage with fellow plane passenger for getting up and leaving in an unorganized manner while she and her friend remained in their seats, looking unimpressed.

It was accompanied with on-screen text which read: “Since when did airplane etiquette of getting off the plane row by row end?”

The video was met with varying responses from the people of TikTok, many of whom believed that Mikayla was overreacting with her criticism of other passengers’ poor etiquette.

Mikayla took to TikTok to share her pet peeve during her flight. (TikTok/@mickeyyyt)

“I have never seen it go row by row. It doesn’t board row by row either. So idk why people expect this,” one person commented, which has racked up over 245,000 likes and 9,100 comments.

Another echoed: “I’ve been traveling 20+ years and I’ve never seen people do row by row.”

However, many were on Mikayla’s side, claiming it was incredibly impolite to not exit the plane row by row.

“I experienced the same thing recently and I wasn't in the aisle so there was nothing I could do but wait for the aisle seat person to go,” recalled one TikTok user, while someone else noted: “I just had this happen Monday. I understand if they need to catch a connecting flight. If that’s unspoken though, it’s considered rude.”

People were left divided by the video. (TikTok/@mickeyyyt)

While some people may have other pet peeves when it comes to plane etiquette - be it snoring, taking one's shoes off, or talking loudly - exiting the plane appears to be yet another action that provokes judgment.

Ultimately, etiquette experts say that how people exit the plane is a matter of decency and that exiting row by row is the proper thing to do, if possible.

“Even though there is not an official rule regarding exiting an airplane, it comes down to the honor system,” author and etiquette expert Jules Hirst told Newsweek.

However, Hirst noted that there are some exceptions, adding: "Passengers with connecting flights should be allowed to exit first."