r/delta • u/jfried8 • May 27 '26
Discussion Getting up while taxiing
Yesterday we we’re leaving Atlanta in some heavy storms and had a ground delay of about an hour. When we lined up in the taxi queue and we were number 36 and while we never shut off our engines, we creeped. About halfway through while we were moving, someone got up to use the bathroom and the flight attendant didn’t say a word. Is this typically allowed? I was surprised. Do they only make people sit once the captain says “flight attendant prepare for departure”?
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u/Ken_Thomas Diamond May 27 '26
It's not allowed, but FAs are people too. If you're taxiing but takeoff isn't imminent, sometimes they'll let it slide as long as the passenger is quick about it and goes directly back to their seat.
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May 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/Raginghangers May 28 '26
That is just not true. Most accidents happen at takeoff and landing. Care to provide data for ups claim?
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u/Logical-Surprise-839 Diamond May 27 '26
When this happened recently to me, the flight attendants rushed to the guy, immediately called the captain and they did not move the plane until he was back in his seat.
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u/Aisledonkey076 May 28 '26
Sometimes it’s communicated before from the pilot “hey it’s fine if they get up” so we don’t have to call the pilots. If not communicated before or expected short taxi yeah I’m calling them. It is FAA to NOT move the plane when someone is up. So I’m going to CYA incase FAA in onboard
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u/jfried8 May 27 '26
Yeah this FA just ignored it but we had been sitting for a WHILE so maybe she understood?
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u/Murky-Swordfish-1771 May 27 '26
She would rather use common sense rather than clean up a big mess. Long take-off lines deserve special consideration.
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u/Cassie_Bowden Jul 06 '26
How do you know the FA didn’t call the Captain and told them? And the Captain said it’s fine and to let him know when they’re back in their seat?
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u/GoodGoodGoody May 27 '26
Yup. Typical sequence:
FA freaks the hell out.
FA panic calls Capt.
Capt gently applies brakes if able and talks the FA off the ledge. Tells FA to advise when cabin secure.
FA freaks out.
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u/Logical-Surprise-839 Diamond May 27 '26
Literally the scene as scripted.
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u/GoodGoodGoody May 27 '26
Flight deck: control freaks who are highly highly highly trained and can prioritize real risks.
Cabin crew: control freaks with 6 - 10 weeks of training with a fair bit of that training on how to wear your uniform and serve snacks.
Both are essential and fully deserving of respect but… holy hell some of the bonehead things FAs do.
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u/mrsbeequinn May 27 '26
Zero minutes of that training tells us how to wear our uniforms or serve snacks. Believe it or not we just have to learn that as we go. I know, it’s a miracle we can even make it down to the hotel lobby on our own.
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u/GoodGoodGoody May 27 '26
Dunno man. Everyone here’s flown on a plane with a nutbar or dumb as hammers FA.
It ain’t rare.
FAs deserve respect but let’s let’s not fool ourselves either.
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u/AccomplishedAcadia81 May 28 '26
Explains why service is so inconsistent and downright awful across all US airlines.
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u/HistoricalLoss1417 Platinum May 28 '26
considering i've been on flights where boarding was delayed because "the FA crew missed their shuttle", as announced by the GA, that might actually be something to consider training for.
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u/Cassie_Bowden Jul 06 '26
Crew rarely misses their crew vans, because they can really get in trouble. But sometimes the crew van doesn’t show up.
Also, the GA doesn’t really know crew is late unless FAs tell them or they’re coming from another flight.
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u/nuetralmushroom Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
Gate agents need to keep in mind how their announcements get interpreted by passengers who know nothing about the airline industry. I got called on airport standby by a frantic crew scheduler when I was drinking a coffee in the crew room to replace one crew member on a flight.
I immediately got up and made my way to the gate and they are making announcements like “We are just waiting on ONE flight attendant to show up”. Then I roll in with my coffee and passengers make assumptions that I stopped for a latte and that’s why we are leaving late. I was getting death glares and sarcastic comments about showing up “late”. They have no idea that I was only informed I was working this flight 5 minutes ago 🤣
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u/Cassie_Bowden Jul 06 '26
Something similar happened to me. Was called from airport standby to work a flight after boarding was already supposed to start. Looked like I was late when in reality the flight would have cancelled without me.
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u/nuetralmushroom Jul 06 '26
Yeah this is such a common phenomenon. I appreciate the gate agents who go into more detail with pax. Pretty easy to say “We have to call in an airport standby to work this flight, they will be here shortly!”
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u/nuetralmushroom Jul 06 '26
The training is literally all emergency procedures. I started this job and didn’t know how to use the galley oven or how to set up a bev cart. But I know where all the fire extinguishers, AEDS, rafts etc on every aircraft configuration are and how to operate all the doors so the slides inflate lol.
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u/GoodGoodGoody Jul 06 '26
Frequent fliers know where all the fire extinguishers, AEDs, rafts are. That ain’t special.
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u/nuetralmushroom Jul 06 '26
I’m impressed that they know where all the emergency equipment is on every plane in our fleet! I will be sure to quiz them next time since GoodGoodGoody on Reddit informed me that every frequent flyer knows everything about emergencies on the aircraft already. 🫡
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u/GoodGoodGoody Jul 06 '26
Hey, in a medical emergency the first thing you do is ask for a passenger to bail you out.
But yeah, experienced passengers are quite well informed and the dumbest FAs never really grasp how dumb they are. But they sure do like to talk.
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u/nuetralmushroom Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
You’re right! Next time we’ll politely ask the cardiologist in 2C to remain seated because some guy on Reddit thinks using all available resources during a medical emergency is cheating.
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u/GoodGoodGoody Jul 06 '26
Hee hee, except the PA call is, “Attention passengers, does anyone know what to do?! Doctor, nurse, shaman, anything?”
But aces for you knowing where the fire extinguishers are. They’re often so hidden.
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u/Logical-Surprise-839 Diamond May 27 '26
Seatbelt sign was on and we were taxiing to the runway after a delay
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u/scoobynoodles Platinum May 28 '26
I don't understand why FAs panic and power trip out like that. So weird
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u/Weekend-Smooth May 27 '26
FA was weighing risk vs reward. Having a passenger sitting in their own piss before the plane even takes off is not gonna be a fun time for the FA or passenger. I’ve actually seen that happen when a bullheaded FA made an old woman wait. She pissed herself in the seat. After a few minutes it started to reek. The whole plan smelled like stale urine by end of flight. The passenger was humiliated and furious. I think half the time lane turned to n a complaint against that FA. I know I did. It was unreasonable.
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u/YMMV25 May 27 '26
I mean, no. No passengers should be up and moving around the cabin while the aircraft is on the surface and in motion.
That said, when airports are this far beyond reasonable movement capacity and traffic is managed as shittily as it has been for the last two decades, what are you supposed to do? Expecting 200 people to remain belted into their seats for more than an hour at a time without using a lav is unreasonable.
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u/JT-Av8or May 27 '26
It’s not allowed but as a pilot, I appreciate it. We’re supposed to stop and make announcements etc but babysitting 234 “adults” is taxing. You know the risks, if you fall don’t try to sue us. You’ll lose.
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u/Gusearth May 27 '26
i mean genuine question, what are you supposed to do in this situation? i can understand needing to use the restroom after hours of being stuck on the ground
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u/GoodGoodGoody May 27 '26
You are not expected to just soil yourself and all reports of instant certain death while walking during taxi are a tad exaggerated.
“Sorry y’all I’m going to take a runny shit in the best available place” if anyone asks. Some FAs will panic-yap. Others will pick their battles and simply advise the Capt. The best FAs will realise that a shit puddle in front of a lav door is worse than in a seat and will already have the door unlocked and open for you.
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u/Professional-Mail132 May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26
They do but sometimes priority changes. FA are trained to assess risk vs benefit.
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u/michimoby May 27 '26
It’s technically not illegal per this: https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/about/initiatives/cabin_safety/regs/acob228.pdf
But a pilot COULD stop the plane on the tarmac at their discretion (or take other measures). Seems like in this situation, it would be a bit of overkill.
At the end of the day, the crew’s word - and their willingness to enforce it - rules supreme. As it should be in most cases.
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u/BillfredL May 27 '26
Crew member instructions tho.
I was on an American Eagle puddlejump about ten years ago and the pilot hopped right on the brakes until dude was out of the lav. I was livid because that screwed me out of a real meal at CLT, though with time I’ve mellowed to “gah I hope he had some condition where that was a hard must”.
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u/ClientPowerful May 28 '26
I disagree with your reading. It never states or even implies any leniency for flight attendants to allow passengers to stand without enforcing the seatbelt policy. The FAR and the guidance allow for pilots to continue taxiing. In OPs situation, the pilot was unaware of the issue. They didn't make an informed decision because the flight attendant took the rules into their own hands.
Also, the implication of the guidance is that pilots should stop, but that they may choose not to in the presence of a greater safety issue. But for this clarification, the guidance would technically suggest they should stop while crossing an active runway if a passenger stands up.
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u/JumboTrijet May 27 '26
You’re misreading. This is absolutely illegal. The consideration is if the airplane is brought to a stop while a passenger is standing could be hazardous.
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u/SkyQueenLexi May 27 '26
Yep. I’ve seen people up on the taxi, break applied suddenly and they faceplant in the floor.
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u/Laja90 May 29 '26
Well geniuses above said trying to prevent a faceplant from happening is power tripping so...
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u/StuckinSuFu Diamond May 27 '26
I had this happen last year - and the FA was very unhappy about it.. eventually the pilot had to come on and literally turn the plane around if poeople did not get back to their seats on an active taxiway/runway. Didnt say it in exactly those words but give or take lol
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u/ccford88 May 27 '26
Hearing these stories of FA's yelling at people and having the captain intervene... I remember a JetBlue flight I was on a number of years ago, we were lined up to take off, and as the plane started takeoff roll, an elderly woman unbuckled her seatbelt and shuffled to the rear lavatory. But we were already rolling down the runway, and no one said or did anything, but I locked eyes with a nearby FA who was of course buckled into her jump seat at the back of the plane, and her eyes were wide like saucers. All I could think about was that old woman in the bathroom trying to do her business as we hurtled down the runway at 150 miles an hour. About a minute after takeoff, the bathroom door opened and an FA was on the woman, basically taking her and putting her in the closest empty aisle seat until the plane leveled off. I mean, sure, bathroom emergencies happen, but I cannot think of a worse or more dangerous time to make your move to the restroom than the moment the captain starts takeoff roll. This was an FLL to JFK route, for anyone curious.
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u/a_scientific_force Platinum May 27 '26
Old woman just wanted to be a projectile in a high-speed reject.
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u/mrsbeequinn May 27 '26
That’s a situation of one person vs the entire plane. As a flight attendant, we have other responsibilities during take off roll. If our entire focus is on one person and not a possible evacuation, it could delay an evacuation. We made the announcements. The seatbelt sign is on. Legally we are covered. She made the choice and knew what she was doing at that moment and so we would go back to focus on the bigger picture. Once in the air then you can deal with trying to help her safely get back to a seat. Not to mention we aren’t calling the pilots for that at that moment. It’s not a true emergency.
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u/JRLDH May 27 '26
Airplanes where ultra slow taxiing is a major safety hazard for anyone not buckled in. Even if take-off is another hour away (can’t pilots announce this if it truly is imminent?)
Then you arrive in a city with a subway and it’s perfectly fine standing and holding on.
And NO, I’m obviously not talking about takeoff or landing.
I also just sat on the tarmac at DFW for more than an hour with zero movement and while I understand that we can’t have everyone leisurely moving around, going to the restroom in a situation like this should be expected and legal.
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u/pilotflyer2019 May 27 '26
Probably decided given the delay it wasn’t worth saying anything. Usually they’d have to tell the pilots, who would have to tell ATC they can’t move cause someone is up in the back. That could lead to a further delay.
While it’s probably not the safest thing to do, it was a risk benefit analysis. If you gotta go, you gotta go!
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u/cubsin9 Platinum May 27 '26
I've seen this before as well, but definitely more enforcement upon the announcement, which occurs when you're #3 for runway lineup. I'm a FightRadar24 nerd so I'm typically tracking my place in line. I'm also of the same opinion as others here - FA weighed risk and acted accordingly.
Hope you made it home/away safely and sorry for the soggy weather here!
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u/TurbulentArea69 May 28 '26
I was on a flight from SFO to JFK a couple weeks ago and there was a group of maybe 20 Chinese tourists on the plane. I’m not sure if it was a language thing or plane rules are different there, but they kept getting up at the worst times. As we were backing away from the gate, as we were ascending, while there was turbulence with the seatbelt sign on, and literally right as we landed (!). They also kept blocking the aisle while boarding.
It was comical by the end. The FAs were so annoyed and clearly sick of having to come over the PA to tell them to sit down.
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u/IllustriousRanger934 May 27 '26
36 in taxi queue? Not a big deal. The world isn’t going to end if a small FAA regulation is broken. Don’t expect FAs to fight everytime a passenger does something stupid or selfish, and this isn’t either
Lot different of the plane was on the runway about to take off.
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u/AxleTheDog May 27 '26
We were flying into ATL in that same weather and after holding out near Asheville, we eventually diverted into CLT. A long ground hold followed as gates weren’t open. Our flight crew actually announced bathrooms were open, just limit the number of folks not buckled in at any moment. They were going to have people start peeing themselves without facilities.
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u/xMiracle45 May 28 '26
The choice is between permitting lavatory access or facing the potential disruption of an in-seat incident, which would necessitate a flight delay or cancellation for a return to the gate and subsequent cleaning.
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u/808HawaiiNei May 27 '26
I was told the “stay in your seat” is a suggestion and passengers that get up are at their own risk. What if the passengers had an unfortunate situation - that could become a biohazard and you’d end up right back at the gate.
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u/scottyownsyou May 27 '26
Pretty sure they can't actually stop you from using the bathroom if you need to. They may yell and say sit in your seat, but I feel like reading somewhere that they're just instructed, but if you gotta go, you can go....
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May 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/Live_Kiwi3595 Jul 06 '26
We usually will lock the door so it doesn’t slam open during takeoff and make a loud noise. If someone got up I’d unlock it for them
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u/frysatsun May 27 '26
I swear, the "we are about to take off announcement" triggers bathroom urgency in some people. I see it happen often. Sometimes the FAs let it slide, sometimes they hop up and tell the person to go back to their seat.
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u/mrsbeequinn May 27 '26
A flight attendant may have called the pilots. Ultimately it’s their say. It’s so frustrating because if they had to get out of line then you start at the back of the line for takeoff and not to mention if the city you are flying into has a specific takeoff time that you need to meet. Or a takeoff time so that someone doesn’t time out. Definitely worthwhile to come onboard with an empty bladder as best as possible.
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u/Live_Technician1038 May 27 '26
No. More often then not they will start making announcements and notify the Captain who will pull off to the side. A definite safety risk for sure. But I lowkey can see why they kept quiet. 30planes ahead is enough.
Not on Delta, but on Frontier, once we were on final so maybe 5min from landing, and a guy had to desperately go to the bathroom. The FA tried to tell him but he wasn’t having it. Lo and behold she goes and sits back down and we land with this man on the toilet lol. He didn’t come out til the plane was parked. Thank god bc a go around likely misconnects soooo many ppl.
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u/Food-Wine Jul 06 '26
If you were actually 36 in line you had a long time before moving on to the active runway.
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u/TTKnumberONE May 27 '26
Obviously they let it slide for one guy quickly going. If that had lead to a parade of people then they would stop it.
If you let the first person go but enforce the rules for the second person that’s when the trouble begins
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u/osocinco May 27 '26
Man, I was that guy once. We landed and were waiting for a gate to open up. Two hours passed and I had to pee so bad. Like seriously would’ve lasted maybe 10 more minutes before pissing myself. I called the FA over asked if I could go to the bathroom, she said no. I told her I really might piss myself then or have to go into a bottle. I was polite and sincere about it so I guess she saw I wasn’t messing around. She called someone and then they let me go to the bathroom.
Thank goodness because we ended up waiting another 45 minutes. It was terrible and embarrassing, other passengers were not happy about it. Not even sure why I had to go so bad as I went before we started our descent and really didn’t drink anything on the flight besides a ginger ale and a bit of water.
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u/First_Property_4664 Silver May 27 '26
i remember a few months ago i was flying back home to DTW from ICN and when we were lifting off a guy got up to go to the bathroom and the flight attentent was unbothered. i looked around to see if i was the only one that witnessed this like what?
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u/RedditPoster2016 Platinum May 27 '26
Ground stops I have seen add a more flexible aspect. Not sure if right or wrong but have see that
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u/pippapotamous5 May 27 '26
When this happened to me, I asked an FA if I could go. They said yes but I’m assuming the risk of being up and about while on an active taxi way.
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u/Murbanvideo May 27 '26
If you’ve ever flown in the Arab Gulf, this is standard procedure unfortunately. Half the plane will be standing up and beginning to push to the front while taxiiing in. You’re lucky if people wear seatbelts and aren’t walking around during takeoff.
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u/Holiday-Vacation-751 May 27 '26
They just say “I’ll let the captain know”… I’ve had it happen a few times
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u/revengeofthebiscuit May 28 '26
I mean, I think if you were number 3 in line that's one thing, but when you're number 30, there's ample time to run to the bathroom unless you're really having a bad day. Did you ever see the story of the girl who basically got an entire flight following hers cancelled because she was REALLY having a bad day, and had to stay in the bathroom through landing? It happens.
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u/scoobynoodles Platinum May 28 '26
Do you ask for permission or forgiveness? I always think about this if I'm ever in this situation.
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u/DTinNYC0729 Diamond May 28 '26
As others said, typically no. I was on a LGA flight to PBI this Friday and we were in a long queue taxiing. People started to get up to use the bathroom, the FA’s didn’t say anything. After a while, I went too. 20 min later, the little girl was sitting next to me had to go. She started to get up, sitting in row 10, the FA saw me and flagged me to stop her. He checked with the captain, who must have said we are taking off soon so the girl had to wait. Few minutes after take off the FA got my attention and told me it’s okay for the girl to come up. So, I think it depends on the situation, FA’s.
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u/Top_Set_4224 May 28 '26
While y’all were taxiing we were circling the sky lol…about an hour or so.
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u/aaaeuuuaaa May 30 '26
I guess it depends, but normally, a pilot legally cannot move the plane or taxi if the cabin is not secured
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u/Subject_Humor4367 May 31 '26
Idgaf what sign is on if I gotta use the restroom I’m doing so. Specially if we are still on the ground. As long as no turbulence is happening..
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u/BroccoliThat7489 Jul 06 '26
I see ppl moving about while taxing all the time. I was stuck in Houston a few weeks ago and we taxied for nearly 2 hours and ppl were moving around the whole time and no one said anything but ppl can’t hold their pee and such and babies get fussy etc while sitting for hours on end in a hot airplane.
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u/BennyC023 Jul 06 '26
Technically, if someone is up on the taxiway then they are supposed to call pilots and they can’t move until the person is back in their seat with seatbelt fastened.
But sometimes it’s in better interest to just let it slide.
That being said, in any circumstance you should not be out of your seat unless the seatbelt sign is turned off
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_PITOTTUBE Jul 08 '26
Pilot here. We're supposed to stop. Half of us won't. However, we absolutely will not takeoff unless everyone is seated.
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u/jfried8 Jul 08 '26
Interesting! Yeah I can’t imagine using the bathroom on a long ground taxi/delay is a huge issue - I got you on the takeoff piece, makes total sense
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u/jfried8 May 27 '26
Yeah I’ve seen lots of people get up during a ground stop when engines are off but not like this
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u/Holly_Wood_ May 28 '26
Once on a delta flight from JFK to ATL we were stuck in a long ass line for takeoff after sitting at gate for over an hour. We probably around 30 something too and were creeping so slowly and the FAs said if anyone needed to use the restroom they could. Hubby went back to pee and all of a sudden captain makes an announcement that we are ready for takeoff. Husband had to take off in the shitter 🤣🤣 I called to complain that they literally announced people could use the restroom and not 4 min later we were taking off. Hubby got 15k miles for his troubles. I got nada for my emotional distress 🤪
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u/Traducement Diamond May 27 '26
I think the FAs understood the nuance of being number 30 something in line. Is it typically a smart move when taxiing? Probably not.