Behavior of Polish travellers on Planes.

I was on a inbound Plan yesterday to Poland from the Uk, I Am absolutely shocked by the lack of respect towards others by Poles on airplanes. Many people had complete disregard towards other passengers, forcing bags into over head lockers,Ben though there was no space available,occupying seats that had not been allocated to them,then arguing with the flight attendants when it was brought to their attention, drinking alcohol on the plane which had not been bought at the mini bar. It's about time the airlines started removing these unruly passengers from the aircraft or better still fining them as cost saving seems to be their objective. I asked one of the passengers sitting next to me why Polish behaved in this way and the reply was it is because of communism and the past. I would like to remind Polish people communism ended in 1989- nearly 27 years ago, when traveling to Berlin,Prague,Bratislava or Zagred I did not experience the same rudeness and lack of respect for others. In my opinion this behavior has the unfortunate taste of nationalist hysteria with the I am alright Jacek attitude. Time for Polish travelers to realize they are co-travelers in international airspace and they are not in a Warsaw downtown market bartering over potatoes. 26 years on from communism it's time to stop making excuses about the past,welcome the future and adjust accordingly....

meh who cares

Try Luton to Magaluf.

Who cares? I would guess the other 50% who sit politely stewing in their own political correctness. As for Roger5 maybe you have been in Poland too long and gone native. There is nothing worse than contempt to others it shows bad breeding, social etiquette can be acquired by all irrespective of their financial circumstances...

oh I was wondering how long it would take before a blatant troll like yourself would trot that one out.
We could play Daily Mail bingo if you like.
'political correctness gorn mad' BINGO

My experience of travelling with Poles is very different from yours. Are you sure you didn't just have the bad luck to travel with a few inconsiderate people? Anyway, presumably you won't have to suffer being in Poland for much longer, and can return to the UK. I hope you don't have to travel with a returning British stag party.

Rozumoan, try to keep your posts on topic. People do not stand up for their rights as consumers, if a specific group of travelers are not behaving within the norms then of course they should be targeted. Using historical or cultural differences as an excuse for unacceptable behavior, is not acceptable.

R5, it is not a first visit to Poland, I am here at least 6 times a year. If the incident was isolated I would not post. I am interested to see others coming forward and sharing their own experiences of unruly Poles on Planes.

Nobody is doing that. You suggested it. Presumably (from your spelling) you are American. Is it just on planes to Poland that you have experienced bad manners?

Rozumoan, I find it offensive that you would suggest that I am drunk, I clearly voiced my opinion about Poles drinking illegal alcohol on Planes which by the way is a criminal offence. As a non drinker I have the right to be as vocal as a non smoker would over people smoking on Planes. May I suggest your posts are rather unsavory and it could be considered you may be under the influence.

R5, may I suggest you read the opening post again.

I read it.


That's one person's opinion. Are you saying that you experience unruly behaviour every time you travel to Poland? You say you come here at least six times a year, which suggests that you have been doing this for more than one year. But your first post looks like you were shocked by what you saw yesterday. So, was it the first time it's happened?

Row, apologies for the name gaffe, it's the auto spell on IPad. Now if you are Polish or part Polish, you would be highlighting the exact behavioral syndrome I focused on in post 1. No one else is to be blamed for your past, accept it and move forward.

I fly 5-6 times a year and have for the last 10 years mostly with Easyjet from Gatwick to KR and have never experienced that behavior.Yes the overhead lockers are limited on space and are used more these days.My last flight was with BA and the alcohol was free.Try the bus with Eurolines next time then you will certainly have something to gripe about.Irritable screaming kids,alcohol being consumed and the stink of farts

It not just one persons opinion, I have spoken to numerous people over the years , the excuse is always the same history/communism. Ownership of your actions is the first stage of improvement as long as Polish people hold onto the past and blame others for their failures, it will hold them back from their true potential.

Neither have I.

I just push them out of the way when they barge in front of me. A good shove gets their attention. They are always younger than myself and mutter about my apparent rudeness.

So I just beckon them quietly, as if to share some revelation - and tell them to get ******..

Been a witness to them a few times.Normally they have sunk a few shandy basses before the flight then think they are way superior to others on the flight.True gentlemen!

Geo, you experienced the same behavior on the bus, so it's the norm for Poles when they travel.

If you ever traveled to PL on a bus you would want a few drinks.Yes they drink and have irritable kids with them,but rude NO

In your opinion they are not rude, yet they are still partaking in illegal actions which is a criminal offence, just because you consider the consumption of alcohol during travel time as acceptable,does not make it right.

Dougpol, each to their own methods I would not condone violence. It would be nice if people could accept protocols or laws especially when on a airplane.

Yes my opinion.


It was never mentioned once that there was a no drinking policy in place on the coach.And ill preempt you reply about drinking on a coach.You clearly have never been on an Army V Navy rugby match or attended a football game via a coach

I've flown to Poland quite a bit over the last few years and I've never noticed any unruly behaviour by Poles.
Don't know what you're talking about to be honest.


If anyone's behaviour was that bad, Polish or otherwise, then the flights would be diverted, as has happened before, and the offenders arrested on landing.

Same here. Not much difference between Poles or anyone else when on board (apart from the clapping thing that you sometimes get on low-cost flights).

I've noticed some rather strange behaviour at airports though - all lining up in a queue ages before the flight boards and quite a bit of pushing and shoving, especially at Modlin. As if they think the plane will take off without them

That's the worst airport I've ever been to. Last time I was there I spent nearly as long standing in queues as the flight to the UK took.

Haha yes! Always makes me laugh! By the time the call is given to proceed to the gate, the queue's already a mile long!

Just as bad at the other end too, big rush to get off the plane as fast as possible despite knowing they will probably have to wait for the luggage to be loaded onto the carousel.

At Modlin the security lines are the big problem - it tends to have a lot of families travelling together plus a lot of inexperienced travellers and few business travellers, so lots of unpacking of things, hassles about fluids in baggage etc. At the actual gates, it's worth paying the fiver for priority so you can wait away from the gates in the cafe and go at the last minute. The only problem with that is that the people in the main queue, snaking round the whole gate are rather fraught by that stage that they think you're pushing in and can get nasty.


At Istanbul airport all the gates are in long rows and you don't actually need to know the gate number for the Poland flight since you can see the queue of people from a long way away.

It used to be just the same at Victoria Coach Station - Long queues and more - I once saw a near riot there to get on the coach first just in case there weren't enough seats. They used to have to have the Poland coaches right at the end, separate from the rest because the queues and scrambling were a safety issue!

Yes.How does that happen?

Some of it's the same psychology that makes the Warsaw Metro seem so formal and solemn, some of it is less experienced travellers getting stressed and thinking you have to, some of it is pack mentality and conformity - a couple of people do something that looks official and 'ordered' and others think they have to as well.

I'm pleased the clapping thing on landing seems to be less popular. I'm sure that one came from disaster movies.

Nice though to see all the oohs, aahs and wonderment when people who haven't flown much (if at all) look out of the window when the plane is coming down to land in Poland in the wintertime and all the street lights reflected in the snow and it looks pretty.

I must have been lucky when I flew in and out of Warsaw then, hardly any queues at all!


Haha! Not sure you could call this a Polish 'trait' as such, but the Poles will always be first in line, you can give them that ;)

My experience of Istanbul airport isn't worth repeating here.........


Reckon it must be an inside job ;)
I've always wondered that too, how do they know which gate they are going to be leaving from to get there so fast? Especially at my local airport, where the gates are on different levels.


I've only noticed that on Ryanair flights, and sadly it's as popular as ever....


I've flown a fair bit, but when I flew into Poznań it had been snowing, which i didn't expect, and it was lovely to see. I'm a bit of a sucker for snow, love it :)

It certainly is a crap airport. More like a bus station, but it's great for me because it's on my side of town, so it saves an hour and a half struggling through Warsaw traffic.

For weird, try Batman airport in Turkey. When I worked in that mad part of Anatolia they used to ask for: Passport, boarding card, gun.

I'd say "No gun", and the guard's head would jerk up and he'd eyeball me suspiciously.
Harry, I'm flying from Modlin, carry on only, in a few weeks. Can I expect any trouble taking my car key through security? I know it sounds paranoid but I asked Ryan Air and they said no problem but check with the airport, which I tried to, twice. No response.

(Several years ago they wouldn't allow electronic car keys in hand luggage through security at Chopin, and they lost mine for me. Ruined holiday, much marital grief, and a thousand PLN to get a locksmith to get my car back. The baggage firm paid up, much to my surprise, but it has left me wary, to say the least.}

"Behavior of Polish travellers on Planes" how do you spot a bad polish traveler on lets say a flight from London to new York? sausages round the neck or something?

But I guess if people don't like flying to Poland they should stay at home.