Noisy children are top irritation on flights, say Brits in holiday poll

Noisy children are top irritation on flights, say Brits in holiday poll Getty

The issue of child-free flights has caused controversy among travellers and now British holiday makers are adding fuel to the fire by voting noisy children as their top annoyance on flights.

According to a new survey by online travel agent sunshine.co.uk, when it comes to going on holiday, 88 per cent of UK adults find loud children the most irritating issue on flights.

Lack of legroom (76 per cent) is another annoyance, as well as poor food quality and choice (52 per cent). Not being seated with travel companions is another irritating factor (49 per cent), followed by passengers kicking the backs of chairs (41 per cent).

When the 1,648 UK-based adults who took part in the holiday survey were asked if they enjoyed flying, just 23 per cent said 'yes', while 35 per claimed to be 'indifferent' and 14 per cent said they were scared of flying.

Although holidaymakers have a few irritations, it seems they're too shy to complain about them, as only a fifth (19 per cent) said they had made a complaint about an aspect of their flight experience on a previous holiday abroad. But when asked what their complaint had been, their top annoyance, noisy children, was the answer.

Chris Clarkson, co-founder of sunshine.co.uk, said: 'As a father with young children, I know it can be tough as a parent to keep little ones entertained during a flight.

'When I've travelled without my children, I've often been on a flight with loud kids, but rather than getting annoyed I tend to just feel sorry for the mum and dad!'

He added: 'I think passengers need to be considerate of those travelling on the same flight as them, so a thing like not letting your kids run up and down the aisle is an obvious one.

'However, there are unfortunately other things that do a great job of irritating passengers and lack of leg room is one I think we've all experienced!'

The most annoying things about flying from sunshine.co.uk's survey:

1. Noisy children - 88%
2. Lack of leg room - 76%
3. Poor quality food/choice - 52%
4. Not getting seated with co-travellers - 49%
5. Passengers kicking backs of chairs - 41%
6. Loud fellow passengers - 35%
7. Drunken fellow passengers - 23%
8. Small toilets - 17%
9. Rude in-flight crew - 11%
10. No in-flight entertainment - 9%

What do you find most annoying on a flight? Leave a comment and let us know below.

Silliest ever holiday complaints

Wot, no custard creams?
 'I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts.'
Who put spice in the curry?
 'On my holiday to Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don't like spicy food at all.'
Swimming trunks required
 'We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our swimming costumes and towels.'
The elephants are too big...
 A tourist at a top African game lodge overlooking a water hole, who spotted a visibly aroused elephant, complained that the sight of this rampant beast ruined his honeymoon by making him feel 'inadequate'.
Open all hours?
 'It's lazy of the local shopkeepers to close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during siesta time - this should be banned.'
Disturbed thinking
 A woman threatened to call police after claiming that she'd been locked in by staff. In fact, she had mistaken the 'do not disturb' sign on the back of the door as a warning to remain in the room.
What an outrage!
 'The beach was too sandy.'
How thick can you be?
 A guest at a Novotel in Australia complained his soup was too thick and strong. He was inadvertently slurping the gravy at the time.
Do not distract
 'Topless sunbathing on the beach should be banned. The holiday was ruined as my husband spent all day looking at other women.'
Cheap but not cheerful
 'We bought designer sunglasses for five euros from a street trader, only to find out they were fake.'
Sea for yourself
 'No-one told us there would be fish in the sea. The children were startled.' <div> </div>
Plane madness
 'It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England, but it only took the Americans three hours to get home.'
A measured approach
 'I compared the size of our one-bedroom apartment to our friends' three-bedroom apartment and ours was significantly smaller.'
Good question!
 'The brochure stated: "No hairdressers at the accommodation". We’re trainee hairdressers - will we be OK staying there?'
Too many foreigners
 'There are too many Spanish people. The receptionist speaks Spanish. The food is Spanish. Too many foreigners now live abroad.'
Hot and bothered
 'We had to queue outside with no air conditioning.'
Unruly ruling
 'It is your duty as a tour operator to advise us of noisy or unruly guests before we travel.'
Itching session
 'I was bitten by a mosquito. No-one said they could bite.'
Double trouble
 'My fiancé and I booked a twin-bedded room but we were placed in a double-bedded room. We now hold you responsible for the fact that I find myself pregnant. This would not have happened if you had put us in the room that we booked.'
Whiter than white
 'We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as yellow but it was white.'