‘Put an end to all those questions’: Flight attendant scars a tiny traveler for life with impeccably blunt answer

Not everyone was made to have children. Some of us are just built different, in that we absolutely should not be trusted alone with a child under the age of 7.

Its not that we’re going to hurt your little one or even neglect them, its just that we don’t know how to behave around kids. And, as a result, we inadvertently may end up traumatizing them — like I did when I introduced the neighbor kids to the Nazgûl, or like this poor, child un-friendly flight attendant did in a recent TikTok video. 

He was just trying to be helpful, but sometimes it’s simply best to keep your mouth shut, rather than say something you’ll later regret. The hapless flight attendant captured on video by creator @hannahcantlie is almost certainly living with some regrets, after he accidentally got too honest with a curious passenger.

@hannahcantlie is a mere witness to the delightfully cringe-worthy interaction between the attendant and a young passenger, who receives an unexpected answer when he asks after the evacuation slides. Those slides are for emergencies only, which unfortunately makes a casual ride impossible, but perhaps our airborne king could have minced his words just a touch when explaining why.

Instead of telling the tiny traveler that the slides are off limits except in certain circumstances, or truly saying anything age-appropriate, the utterly honest flight attendant slaps down the curious commuter with a truth bomb. Explaining that the slides are only there “for emergencies,” he immediately expands with a note that “if everybody is about to die, that’s when the slides come out.”

That is a kiddo faux pas of truly “Santa Claus isn’t real” proportions, and it no doubt permanently changed that child’s perception of flying. Viewers, and @hannahcantlie herself, found themselves gobsmacked by the bluntness of the flight attendant’s response, but that didn’t make it any less hilarious.

Comments praising the attendant’s “quick and to the point” answer litter the comment section, along with jokes about laying witness to when that kid’s “deathly fear of slides” first began. Some feel the straightforward approach is the right one, and commended the flight attendant for his avoidance of “sugar coating.”

He certainly didn’t waste any time making his explanation age-appropriate, but it’s likely for the best in the long run. Keeping curious hands away from those emergency evacuation slides is vital, and could actually save lives. Accidental slide deployments aren’t common, but when it happens it’s both pricey and dangerous. Not only can an improperly deployed slide risk serious or even fatal injury, but according to Aviation Week it can also cost the airline dearly. The industry as a whole loses a full $20 million a year to “inadvertent slide deployment,” yet another cost adding dollars to those already-pricey tickets. 

At least the flight attendant accomplished one thing with his blunt response — there’s little chance of our curious kiddo approaching an evacuation slide any time soon. The petite passenger likely has plenty more questions about airplanes and their many bits and bobbles, but we can all guess who he won’t be turning to for answers.