I remember when air travel used to feel special. Not just tolerable—special. I looked forward to flying. There was a sense of ritual to it—food, drinks, movies, a book in hand, maybe even journaling or catching up on work without the usual interruptions. It symbolized a transition—between places, between mindsets. Up there, with no Wi-Fi (or if there was, it barely worked), I found space to reflect. Time slowed down. Some of my best ideas were born mid-flight, scribbled onto a napkin or the back page of a boarding pass. Some of my favorite articles were written 35,000 feet above ground. I even used to get those peaceful mid-flight snoozes where you wake up feeling refreshed—imagine that.
But now? I can’t sleep on flights anymore. Maybe it’s the discomfort of crammed seats with headrests designed by someone who clearly never tried using one. Or maybe it’s the constant, looming threat of a flight attendant slamming their trolley into your seat as if you've personally offended them by existing.
And the thing is, it didn’t matter back then if you were flying economy or business class. Whether you were on a budget flight to your cousin’s wedding or a long-haul business trip, there was a baseline level of respect. Flight attendants smiled. Immigration officers greeted you. It felt like a service you paid for, not an ordeal you had to survive.
Over the last 25 years of international travel, I've seen the standards nosedive. What happened? When did the air travel experience become a masterclass in passive aggression, power trips, and basic human decency tossed out the cabin window?
A Glimpse into the Past
In high school, I participated in Model United Nations trips to Egypt and China. These were budget travels, complete with visa hassles and exhaustive border interrogations. Despite the challenges—long flights, cramped seats—the airline staff served meals with a smile, and immigration officers greeted us courteously. I distinctly remember navigating Cairo's airport, where, despite the bureaucratic maze, the officials were polite and even shared local travel tips.
The Present-Day Ordeal
Fast forward to yesterday’s horrendous travel experience:
We were flying American Airlines back from the U.S. on a connecting flight.
Right as we boarded and tried to get settled, we witnessed a flight attendant go out of her way to make an elderly passenger's life unnecessarily difficult.
The man, clearly in his 70s and not a seasoned flier, was struggling with his carry-on. He wasn’t being aggressive—just trying to maneuver his bag into the overhead compartment like we’ve all done a million times. Instead of offering help or suggesting he place the bag in a less crowded bin, the flight attendant decided to make a point. She snapped, loud enough for the whole row to hear:
"You ain’t going to London if you break that bin, alright?"
The sarcasm. The aggression. The complete lack of empathy.
You’re not doing us a favor by letting us fly. We’re paying customers. And expensive ones at that.
But the flight was just the warm-up.
Heathrow Airport: The Special Circle of Hell
If there were a masterclass on how not to handle passengers, Heathrow Airport would be the instructor.
I watched a young man from Mexico, clearly entering the UK for a language course, get grilled by a border officer in a way that felt more like an interrogation scene than standard immigration.
This man had a valid visa—which means he had already submitted every required document to the UK government for approval before stepping on the plane. And yet, the officer bombarded him with invasive, irrelevant questions:
"Do you have a girlfriend back home?"
"What does she do for work?"
"What is your mother’s monthly pension?"
How exactly does this determine security risk? It wasn’t about border safety—it was about control.
And then there was my 2-year-old son.
A toddler was fully patted down and searched. He was scared. He didn’t like it. And guess what? That’s on the security officer, not him.
It gets worse—another passport officer insisted on taking his photo despite his distress. Meanwhile, back in U.S. customs—which is hardly known for its flexibility—the officer explained that the photo was optional for children under five and let him skip it.
So, tell me again, what exactly was Heathrow protecting against?
When Did Air Travel Lose Its Humanity?
And here’s the wild part—it didn’t have to be this way.
Even the TSA, which once made me feel like a criminal simply for holding a Turkish passport post-9/11, has improved.
Yes, as a university student from a Muslim-majority country, I’ve had my share of racial profiling at U.S. airports. I was even on the receiving end of jokes about being a terrorist.
But you know what? They’ve gotten better.
The TSA realized that screening passengers effectively doesn’t require treating them like threats. They streamlined processes. They trained staff better. They stopped turning every checkpoint into a scene from the Stanford Prison Experiment. TSA officers are now generally polite, streamlined, and efficient.
(If you haven’t seen South Park's episode on the TSA - Toilet Safety Administration, go watch it — it’s brilliant and uncomfortable because the satire hits a little too close to home.)
What’s Really Broken?
It’s not just me. A 2023 American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) report showed air travel consistently ranks near the bottom of all service industries.
Poor service.
Lost baggage. (did I mention they lost our baggage on the way here? Certainly not the first time that has happened!)
Flight delays. (3 out of 4 of our flights were delayed and the 4th one that was on time, we could not make because the first one was delayed! - we had to rebook and change plans!)
Minimal accountability. (Noone wants to take responsibility for the delay or any of the inconvenience caused)
And while the U.S. and European airports seem stuck in this rut, Asian airlines and airports are thriving.
I can really vouch for this - Flying in Asia is still a treat. Singapore Airlines? Impeccable. ANA? Flawless service. Even their lounges feel like luxury hotels compared to the bleak terminals we’re subjected to in Europe and the U.S.
So if they can do it, what’s stopping the rest of the industry?
So What Needs to Change?
Here’s what the airline industry could do today to fix this:
✅ Emotional Intelligence Training: Staff should be trained in empathy and conflict de-escalation, not just procedures.
✅ Passenger Rights Reform: Clear, enforceable policies for how passengers should be treated—across all airports and airlines.
✅ Incentives to Be Human: Should flight attendants be tipped like servers? Or receive bonuses for positive feedback?
✅ Better Working Conditions for Airline & Ground Staff: Underpaid, overworked, and often mistreated by their own employers, airline and ground staff need fair wages, reasonable hours, and proper support to reduce emotional and physical burnout. If the industry strives for better service, it starts with better conditions and higher expectations.
✅ Accountability Measures: A real system for reporting mistreatment—one that doesn’t get buried in a feedback form.
✅ Automation Where It Makes Sense: If people can’t handle treating passengers with dignity, maybe AI should. Facial recognition check-ins. Automated security screenings. No power-tripping required.
✅ Compensation Reform: If airlines lose your luggage or ruin your experience, there should be clear, consistent compensation policies.Air travel doesn’t have to stay in this deplorable state.
✅ Websites and Apps That Actually Work: Checking in, choosing seats, and managing travel plans should be intuitive, consistent, and reliable across major airlines. No more crashing apps or confusing forms—this should be basic at this point.
✅ Efficiency and Excellence: From a streamlined boarding and offloading experience to better in-flight comfort and service, airlines should prioritize efficiency without sacrificing passenger care.
✅ Consistency Across Airports: Each airport seems to operate by a different playbook. Convergence in service standards, security processes, and basic amenities across global airports would make travel smoother and reduce unnecessary stress.
The industry can absolutely reclaim its former glory—if it chooses to. Leading global carriers like Singapore Airlines, ANA, and JAL have already proven it’s possible by prioritizing passenger dignity, operational excellence, and basic human respect. If the TSA (yes, the TSA) can transform over the years to be less aggressive and more respectful, there’s hope for Heathrow and others yet.
The Bottom Line:
✅ You’re not a burden when you fly.
✅ You’re a paying customer, contributing directly to the aviation industry's existence.
✅ You deserve respect, not power plays.
So why are we allowing outdated, power-tripping dynamics to persist? It’s not radical to expect basic human decency when you step onto a plane.
It’s time to demand better.
Hi! I'm Merve. 👋 I help leaders build high performing teams, amplify their business impact, and advance their careers.
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