Africans are flying more than they ever did in the history of flight. Not even the outbreak of Ebola in 2014 in West Africa or macroeconomic factors have slowed down the growth appetite of our for air travel.

It is expected that intra Africa travel will continue, to grow particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, with East Africa taking the lead.

However, the aircraft cabin being a shared space, it is vital for travellers to cultivate a sense of etiquette and consideration for other travellers.

On my last flight, I spent a good amount of time in the galley at the back of the aircraft with the cabin crew for a bit of tete-a-tete on “peculiar” flying habits.

The expectation by some passengers that cabin crew are required to carry their carry-on bags for them from the moment they embark and store them in the overhead cabins topped the charts.

Guilty of this expectation, which sometimes comes as a demand, are passengers 50 years and above who tend to confuse the role of a cabin crew with that of a bellhop or valet.

Storing carry-on bags into the overhead compartment does not feature anywhere in the cabin crew’s standard operating procedure. Passengers need to realise that cabin crew may choose to assist with this task but it is not their core duty.

Once inside the aircraft cabin, all passengers are expected to be accorded equal treatment by the cabin crew despite their social standing — the exceptions here being those outlined in standard airline procedure manuals, for instance unaccompanied minors, mothers with infants and special assistance passengers, among others.

It therefore doesn’t come as a surprise when cabin crew in the region complain about the “Big Man Syndrome” aboard flights. This is a status that some passengers choose to flaunt on board despite travelling in economy class. Not that it is welcome in business class either.

Passengers who carry this façade of self-importance aboard flights and therefore expect superior treatment due to their social, political or economic standing, must understand that airlines have not yet developed a service manual to match their extraordinary expectations.

Another cause for concern, but this time among airline ground staff is the traveller’s dress code. Unknown to many travellers, some airlines do actually have a dress code or what they consider acceptable wear on a flight.

That such a dress code may not be actively enforced, does not negate the fact that an airline may choose to deny boarding based on how a traveller is dressed, especially if the passenger’s sense of fashion borders on indecent public display.

Dress code matters aside, some hygiene factors are a big concern for both passengers and crew, principally where one elects to remove their shoes in the cabin. It is a natural expectation that cabin crew will ask passengers to sit back and enjoy the flight, but for the passengers to remove their shoes and beat the cabin to the stench of sweat-soaked feet baked in dirty socks is not only a mood spoiler but can be asphyxiating.

While passengers, aviation and medical experts continue to argue about the effects of alcohol and attitude, one thing holds true; — alcohol consumption inflight, particularly when imbibed with the view that it is “free of charge,” can lead to serious intoxication with adverse consequences.

Travellers need to understand that while it is perfectly acceptable to have a few alcoholic drinks during a flight, getting drunk and disorderly can be considered a criminal the offence, specifically where disruption of peace and endangering the flight are involved.

If you have ever had to walk the length of a cabin to the next, hopefully clean rest room, then you will concur with me that passengers use these facilities with wanton abandon and excessive carelessness.

And what’s with passengers trooping to use the rest room just when the seatbelt sign comes on? The consequences of turbulence can be catastrophic.

Finally, every passenger reserves the right to snore, but please save your seatmates the drool and the uninvited head-on-shoulders as you sleep.

Michael Otieno is an aviation consultant based in Nairobi. Twitter: @pmykee143, Email: [email protected].