FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - What Are Your Top Pre-Flight Air Travel Pet Peeves? The 2015 — and First — Edition
Old Apr 15, 2015, 1:41 pm
  #7  
Mats
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Arizona, USA
Posts: 2,403
The TSA, for a very long list of reasons.

But the second is announcements. American airports and airplanes are overloaded with announcements.

Loudspeaker: "This is a security announcement..." (I want to strangle whoever thought that this was helpful for public safety.)

The TSA barkers, the petty tyrants: "Shoes off! Jackets off!!!" (It never works. If you actually walk down the line and politely tell people what to do, they'll do it. If you yell, the response will usually be "What did she say?")

Loudspeaker: "The TSA has limited items that may be taken past a security checkpoint." (If you're already in the sterile area, why do you need to hear that? And then hear it again? And again?)

Gate agent: "This is a VERY FULL flight and we will be checking blah blah blah blah."

The VERY FULL flight is like a stressed-out high school teacher who starts off each lesson with, "We have a LOT to cover today." It begins the lesson on the most stressful and least relevant point. It also makes it sound as if you've done something wrong: you chose the full flight or the heavily loaded syllabus, and it's your fault.

And a particular mention to "Ma'am... MA'AM!" That's high-stress airport-speak. It's a quick way to escalate tension.

I think that America's airports would be far less annoying if we just cut the cords of those loudspeakers. It's a cacophony of rules, redundant rules, and airline jargon.
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