Hundreds of people are crammed into a small space on an aeroplane for several hours. If you violate the unofficial airline etiquette, you can make flying uncomfortable for yourself and your fellow travellers. This will help you avoid the most common mistakes and promote a pleasant flying atmosphere.

There is only one armrest between the seats, which has to be shared by the people sitting next to you. Many people extend their small territory by claiming the armrest for themselves and thus restricting their neighbour. Please don't start an argument about the armrest. If the person sitting next to you claims it, let them have it, it's more pleasant than fighting with them over it. As for yourself, avoid using the armrest and if you do use it, only rest your elbow on it.

Before reclining your seat, think about the person sitting behind you whose small space you will be restricting. If possible, limit reclining to rest periods on night flights. Take special care to ensure that the passenger behind you has nothing on their table before reclining the seat.

Personal hygiene should be a matter of course, but unfortunately every now and then you catch someone sitting next to you who doesn't smell very pleasant. Just like bad body odour, excessive perfume use can be annoying. Make sure that you are not one of those people when you are in close quarters with others.

Don't talk at the person sitting next to you. Pay attention to the other person's body language, if they are reading or have their headphones on, this clearly shows that they are not in the mood for conversation.

Don't stuff the stowage spaces above the seats with your stuff alone. Limit yourself to putting just one piece of luggage there and stow your jackets and handbag under the seat in front. It makes for annoying delays when the stewardess has to find space for the last passengers.

Keep your children in check. Children get bored quickly and start kicking the front seat with their feet or fidgeting in the seat. This can be extremely distracting for fellow travellers. Try to keep the children occupied.

Even if you are allowed to drink alcohol on board, you should not get drunk. In the pub on the ground, people can avoid you, but on the plane they are forced to put up with you in a drunken state.

Understand that the people in the window seat or in the centre may have to get up from time to time or you may have to pass them a tray. It's not nice when people roll their eyes just because you have to go to the toilet and the person sitting next to you has to get up for you. If this bothers you too much, next time find yourself a window seat where you don't have to get up for others.
However, this also means that even if you are sitting by the window, you should not go to the washroom every five minutes so that the others have to get up for you. Flying is all about mutual consideration.

If you're walking down the aisle and need to hold on to the seats for better balance, make sure you don't get caught in other passengers' hairstyles.

There are some everyday habits that strangers don't want to notice. That's why we also go to the bathroom at home. This includes cutting fingernails, picking teeth after mealtimes or changing the baby's nappy.

The screens in the front seat are great for entertainment. But be careful not to pick at it with your fingers, because the neighbour in front of you will feel it. Gently press the screen to change channels or use the remote control.

Keep your own noise to a minimum. Loud music from your headphones or video game, half-shouted conversations and whining children all grate on passengers' nerves. If everyone behaved as if they were alone in the world, the whole aeroplane would just roar. Keep your noise level to a minimum. Of course, you can't simply switch off your children, but you should still try to calm them down and distract them.

Photo: Łukasz Golowanow, Maciej Hypś, www.Konflikty.pl