British airline passengers want clapping at the end of flights to be banned, but with one exception.
The audience went to Reddit to express their mild annoyance at the pilot applauding them for a safe journey to or from their holiday destination. It comes as one user expressed their “disgust” at hearing admiration for the landing on a recent trip.
They wrote: “A handful of passengers clapped as the plane landed in Spain. I don't know what nationality the clappers were, but thankfully the other Brits and I on board looked at each other in disgust at this behaviour.”
The original post on r/BritishProblems has divided the room somewhat, with one user agreeing with the original poster. “I've already demanded my team clap every time I send an email or make a phone call,” they joked.
“After every meeting, a human tunnel is waiting for me outside the meeting room.”
Another saw reason for applause in some situations involving landing a plane during or after disastrous circumstances, adding: “We all clapped when our plane landed at Heathrow… but this was in April 2010; the Icelandic ash cloud had finally cleared so we could return home, and we were all incredibly grateful to be back on home soil after being stranded on the other side of the world for a week.”
Others said similar poor conditions had led to applause for the pilot, not for flying the plane, but for surviving the terrible weather conditions.
They wrote: “The only time I was in a plane when that happened was one rough and windy December night when we were landing at Aberdeen. As we were about to land the wind got a hold of the plane and the pilot opened the throttle and we had to turn around again. We were very hot and close to the ground, I can tell you. The pilot came on the intercom and said very calmly, 'Well, let's just try it again.'
“The second time he landed as if it was a calm, clear day and nothing had happened the first time. Then everyone clapped, including me, because damn it.”
Others revealed that their partners use the first few claps to expose those who would ironically clap upon landing. They wrote: “My husband always claps 2-3 times upon landing to see if he can make other people burst into a big applause because he knows it makes me die inside. He's an idiot.”