When it comes to travelling on a long-haul flight, you should always wear comfortable clothes to make your journey that little bit easier.
Kris Major, a British flight attendant with 25 years’ experience, says he has done everything from quick short-haul hops to 14-hour stretches in the sky.
The cabin crew member claims one of the most common “comfort” moves can become a genuine nuisance – and even a risk – when people do it in the dark.
Kris says the problems start on night flights when the cabin lighting is dim. This is when passengers tend to stretch out and let their feet drift into the aisle.
With those conditions, crew may not spot your feet until the last second – and Kris warns this can lead to staff tripping over you, disrupting the cabin and jolting sleeping passengers awake.
In a narrow aisle, crew members are moving quickly, sometimes carrying hot drinks and often navigating around bags, elbows and half-asleep travellers. Anything that is hard to see at floor level is an accident waiting to happen.
Commenting on a travel hack thread on Reddit, one user asked about the benefits of compression socks when flying.
In response, another user stressed how important it is to wear compression socks when travelling by air.
Agreeing, a fellow traveller added: “I thought I didn’t need them because I’m a runner and pretty fit.
“Turns out runners are actually more prone to clots when sitting down for extended periods – something about big blood vessels pushing blood with nowhere to go.
“Anyway, I took a 10-hour flight recently with compression socks on. Game-changer. I felt overall more refreshed when I landed and did a whole city walking tour that day. I could never have done that otherwise.”
One more user said: “Yup. Wore them on the way to London, felt great. Forgot them on the way back and could barely walk through customs.”
SEO experts at AI SEO analysed Google search trends and found that the term “compression socks for flying” has increased by 140% compared with last month.
The jump suggests travellers are becoming more aware of in-flight comfort and circulation – but Kris’s warning is a reminder that sock colour matters too, especially if you plan to remove your shoes.