Delta Passenger Asleep on Flight, Anger at What Woman Does on Next Seat

A Delta Air Lines passenger joining a Microsoft Teams call during an early morning flight has prompted criticism on Reddit.

The incident was detailed in a post titled, “New absurd behavior: Teams meeting from flight,” shared by Reddit user u/br0princess on August 4 in the r/delta subreddit.

The post described a woman who disrupted the quiet cabin during a flight from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). The poster, who did not share their name or age, told Newsweek: “I was sitting in the main cabin” and the “flight was full.”

“Flying SFO to ATL on the 6:15 a.m., so we all clearly got up early to make the flight,” the user wrote in the post. “I’m prepared to catch some more sleep with my neck pillow, eye mask, and earplugs.”

That plan was upended, the poster explained, when the woman seated next to them began speaking loudly during a video call. “At 8:30 a.m. PT [Pacific Time] this woman next to me wakes me up from TALKING on her Teams meeting, on camera,” the user wrote. “I can tell someone on the meeting was shocked that she joined given that she’s obviously on plane. She goes ‘But it was an important meeting!!!!! I didn’t want to miss it.'”

The poster told Newsweek that the woman wore headphones and only spoke at the start of the call to say she’d keep her camera off. “She didn’t speak again but she did stay on the call to watch her coworkers on the meeting, screen share and take notes/listen…”

The Reddit post quickly gained traction, with 4,400 upvotes and hundreds of comments. It sparked a wide-ranging conversation about in-flight internet etiquette and passenger behavior.

“If it was that important,” the original poster continued. “Maybe don’t fly during your In Person Account Meeting to review your marketing statistics for your client?…I’m FUMING. People have lost their damn minds and basic courtesy.”

According to the Delta website, free Wi-Fi is available for SkyMiles members on most domestic flights and “once you are connected to Wi-Fi, you can message using messaging apps such as iMessage, Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp on compatible devices.” However, the airline does not specify any guidelines for taking calls on board.

While the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has permitted the use of portable electronic devices during flights since 2013, the rules around voice calls and video conferencing are unknown.

Back in October 2013, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that “airlines can safely expand passenger use of Portable Electronic Devices during all phases of flight” and “most commercial airplanes can tolerate radio interference from portable electronic devices.”

While it’s safe to read downloaded materials, such as e-books and calendars, and to play games, “in some instances of low visibility—about one percent of flights—some landing systems may not be proven to tolerate the interference,” the FAA said, advising that “in those cases, passengers should be asked to turn-off devices.”

While connectivity may be technically safe, airlines and social norms still frown upon disruptive in-flight behavior—especially during early morning flights when many passengers are trying to rest.

The Reddit user told Newsweek: “I did tell her that the call wasn’t allowed, she claimed she didn’t know, even though it was announced at the start of the flight. I told a flight attendant walking past us and the flight attendant told her to stop. She did not and continued to sit on the call.”

The poster then asked the woman to get up and then went to speak with a flight attendant about her again. “She was told she’d get written up if she stayed on the meeting and she said she was only working, not on a meeting,” the poster noted.

“Nothing really came of it,” the poster said. “The part that upset me the most was that she spoke loudly and woke me up on an early morning flight to do something that was prohibited…”

Several Reddit users expressed sympathy with the original poster.

“FA [flight attendant] here: Please ring your call light. I will shut that nonsense down,” wrote user u/Cassie_Bowden in response.

Another commenter, u/New-Reference-2171, agreed: “I came to say this—ring your call button.”

Others were baffled by the woman’s decision to conduct an audible, on-camera meeting mid-flight. “I truly don’t know how all of you stand the entitled people who do this,” wrote u/vampyire.

User u/rando435697 added: “That’s incredibly bizarre behavior by her…for me, I’ve joined meetings in flight, however, I’ve shared in advance with my team that I was going to be on a flight, I’d be off camera and listening in only. Being active and potentially giving away sensitive information—not to mention disturbing other passengers, is just unhinged and wildly inappropriate.”

Newsweek has contacted Delta Air Lines for comment via email.

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