'Treat People the Way You Want to be Treated': Pilot Goes Viral For Rant Directed at 'Selfish' Passengers The American Airlines pilot wasn't tolerating any unruly behavior.
By Emily Rella
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Talk about a pilot who knows how to run his plane!
One American Airlines pilot is going viral after a passenger recorded his strongly worded rant about how he expects passengers to behave and operate while he's flying the plane.
The clip, which has been viewed over 4.5 million times, was posted by passenger Anna Leah Maltezos who started recording after the pilot told passengers to listen to what the flight attendants had to say because they represent his "will in the cockpit" and that his "will is what matters."
"Be respectful of each other, I shouldn't have to say that," the pilot said over the intercom. "People should treat people the way you want to be treated, but I haven't seen it every single time because people don't. They're selfish. And we won't have it."
Related: Man Arrested at JFK Airport For Allegedly Peeing on Another Passenger Mid-Flight
The pilot then went on to tell passengers to not fall asleep on each other, to not drool, and to keep their belongings to themselves within their own personal space.
"Nobody wants to hear your video. I know you think it's super sweet," he said, in regards to passengers who play videos and audio from their devices without using headphones. "It probably is. But it's your business. Right? So keep it to yourself. Use your air pods, use your headphones. That's your business."
He concluded the message by telling middle-seat passengers that his "gift" to them was permitting them to use both armrests as their own.
Many in the comment section applauded the pilot for his matter-of-fact rant, agreeing that passengers have become too unruly in recent months — and that the people who didn't agree with his tone were probably the ones who needed to hear it.
"Anyone who doesn't agree with what he said apparently is oblivious to social manners and could care less about being respectful to fellow passengers," said one former flight attendant. "The things I have seen people do and say is mind-boggling. If everyone just followed the golden rule flying would be a breeze."
"He speaking to adults… the fact that he has to give this speech to adults who should know better than to mind their own business and is honestly ridiculous," another said bluntly. "People have lost their common sense."
It is not clear where the plane was headed at this time.
The American Airlines pilot has good reason to lay down the law on his fight, especially after the way passengers have been behaving on flights.
In April, a man was arrested upon landing at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport for allegedly urinating on another passenger mid-flight.
"Acts of violence against our team members are not tolerated by American Airlines and we are committed to working closely with law enforcement in their investigation," the airline said in a statement at the time.
A passenger in July was also banned from the airline after he was caught "skiplagging", which is when a customer will purchase a flight with a layover but instead of getting off at the final destination, they purposely miss the connecting flight in order to make that their final destination.
American Airlines did not immediately respond to Entrepreneur's request for comment.
