Exclusive:
A former Emirates airline flight attendant has revealed the best and worst passengers from her experiences — with British passengers being liked less than German passengers
A flight attendant has revealed why air stewards prefer Germans over the Brits.
Marika Mikusova, a flight attendant for Emirates Airline, has spent years flying for the Arsenal sponsoring plane operator, and over those years has discovered which passengers she likes the most.
One of the most popular destinations to fly to among flight attendants is Germany. Marika said: “The Germans are wonderful – they are polite (much appreciated), not demanding and know how to stow their luggage in hatracks without fighting like little kids. German passengers don’t leave rubbish laying around and comply with our instructions.”
In 2024, the Research Association for Holidays and Travel (FUR) predicted that Germans would take around 70 million trips of five days or more. According to Statista, the most popular holiday destinations for Germans in 2024 were the Baltic Sea, followed by Italy and Austria.
Marika also noted how – in her experience – Japanese passengers tend to be polite and calm. However, the same could not be said for Brits.
“Unfortunately, UK flights are among the least popular,” Marika revealed. “British passengers tend to come on board already in a ‘party mode’. For us — even though we don’t like to spoil the fun — we have to calm them down a bit.
“Yes, flight attendants are party-poopers. Sorry, we have to be. Consumption of alcohol and noise level on board shouldn’t get out of hand. When it does, it can be even dangerous — both for us and fellow-passengers. For these situations, we have handcuffs onboard, and we are trained in restraining techniques.
“We are allowed to use them only in case of aggressive passenger. Once we restrain the aggressor, he is not allowed to even use the toilet until we land.”
Cabin crew are trained to identify early signs of aggressive behaviour from a passenger and use de-escalation techniques. Passengers will be briefed on the rules and acceptable behaviour during the safety demonstration and subsequent announcements.
Cabin crew will use a calm approach, with non-threatening language. However, if the passenger’s behavior continues, a clear verbal warning will be issued, stating the potential consequences if they do not change their behavior, including restraint or law enforcement involvement upon landing.
In some cases, where the aggressive behaviour escalates, air crew may use restraining devices. When this occurs, the captain will be informed so they can assess whether to divert the flight, or to continue to the planned destination.
In the UK, budget airline easyJet remains the market leader, with a 20 per cent increase in passengers in 2023 from the year before. Also, over half the UK adult population travelled by air in the past year to August 2024.
