Viral Airplane Seatbelt Trick: Unpacking the Feet-Belt, Safe Hack or Hazardous Trend?

Airline passengers have to wear their seat belts when the seat belt sign is on. Flight attendants on overnight flights often warn passengers that if they’re going to sleep, to make sure the seat belt is visible or else when the sign goes on they’ll need to wake people up to check that they’re belted. But do you really have to wear it “low and tight across your lap?” What about wearing it… on your feet?

A social media video shows a passenger sitting in her seat barefoot with her feet up on the seat and seatbelt around her ankles. How on earth is this good, but apparently it’s a viral travel tip on TikTok being suggested by several creators. This video alone has over 20 million views.

@alexisburnaby1711

idk the @ but ily

♬ Murder On The DanceFloor – speduqaudio

I guess this is supposed to brace you into a fetal position for sleeping, but seems like a very bad idea. The idea of a seat belt is to keep you latched in, which is usually only needed in significant turbulence or when flying an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9.

Honestly this seat belt travel trick doesn’t even look comfortable to me. Am I just an old fuddy duddy missing out on how ‘kids today’ think about comfort and life hacks?

(HT: Paul H)

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. I never found a seatbelt to be that intrusive so I don’t really get what the issue is with people wearing them.

  2. I don’t think most flight attendants would let that fly. It needs to be across your waist for takeoff in landing not your feet. There’s a reason for that.

  3. Pro tip: For maximum passenger comfort, stability and safety during extreme clear air turbulence or pesky Boeing 737 MAX9 exit door plug explosive blowout, simply secure your seatbelt tightly around your neck. 🙂

  4. The sooner these TikTok experts collect their Darwin awards, the better the world will be.

    I’m no safety engineer, but I cannot think of a crash or turbulence scenario where the ankle belt would be more effective. Heck, not even at all effective.

  5. When I have the luxury of three economy seats to myself to sleep, something that sometimes happens but rarely, I figure out innovative ways to keep from separating from my seat during a sudden drop.

  6. Also the lack of circulation in your legs when compressed like that cannot be good for the whole blood clot thing.

  7. Sentence of the Year so far:
    “Pro tip: For maximum passenger comfort, stability and safety during extreme clear air turbulence or pesky Boeing 737 MAX9 exit door plug explosive blowout, simply secure your seatbelt tightly around your neck. ”

    But then beaten by:
    “The sooner these TikTok experts collect their Darwin awards, the better the world will be.”

    I am sure they will collecting their awards very shortly!

  8. A person that small and flexible should not need to be in a squat to be comfortable- just another unemployed influencer trying to get clicks. Get a real job and pay taxes like the big kids.

  9. Very foolish. Being tethered by your lower extremity is likely to propel the head forward for a hard impact. Idiots need no extra help with stupidity

  10. Great trick, if you are a rubbery cartoon character. Or maybe she is shorter than the distance from the seat to the overhang for carry ons. Otherwise it is hard to imagine a worse place to put the belt except, as Ken said, around one’s neck. I am old enough to remember when people thought car seat belts were intrusive and they could just brace. Surviving one accident where you discover the forces involved in a collision will settle that. And so will encountering severe turbulence even with the belt around your waist where it belongs. When you are in motion just wear it. (Or a helmet if on a bike or motorcycle.)

  11. Everything I think people can’t get any more stupid, they manage to achieve it.

    Dumb girl, dumb look.

  12. the real question is why she is wasting time on tiktok when she could be updating her onlyfans account

  13. The intent of a seatbelt is to keep you attached to the aircraft. As a Flight Attendant, this would not be cool. I’d have a small conversation, but, in the end, the passenger is compliant. An idiot, but compliant.

  14. She even looks stupid. Instead of spending so many hours with a ton of make-up and trashy fake nails, she should brush up on common sense.

  15. If there is a stupid thought floating out there, there will be a stupid person determined to try it. You can’t fix stupid.

  16. You are not a fuddy duddy. These kids on TikTok have no brains. Imagine doing a challenge where you cut off your air until you black out. I agree with Mark, definitely a Darwin Award finalist.

Comments are closed.