Ah, the airport! There's one for every big major city, and it's usually filled with stressed travelers, bewildered tourists, and bored staff workers. Airports obey strict safety and logistical rules and are often seen as a place where everything must work to perfection, operating like a precise Swiss watch.

But are airports as safe and well-organized as we think? Or are there some shocking situations going on at our local airports? Today, we have collected a bunch of stories coming from the people who know the airport best: the staff workers! And if you think all airports function without any issues, you're in for a big, big surprise.

Airport Workers Don't Always Behave As You'd Expect

The flight service station staff is crucial to allow airplanes to fly and land safely. They include the people providing instructions at the command tower, but also the on-site workers who carry the luggage of the travelers in and out of the airplane. Surely, everybody working at the airport runway must be responsible and mature. Right...?

Well, not everybody. Some of the people working at the runway enjoy having fun whenever they can. This includes using traffic cones as megaphones, pretending that the signaling lights are cool beaming lasers, and hanging out with the rest of the staff.

They See It All  And Probably Laugh About It At Home

Airports can sometimes look and feel like distant, parallel realities. It's the place you visit in-between visiting places, where the rules of society can get a little bit blurry. For this reason, people dress in the craziest of ways when they travel. They can either relax a little bit too much and go with their pajamas or overdo it entirely like these two Christmas-time companions.

But to all of those acting their wackiest at the airport, please keep in mind that the staff is always watching! From their working spots, they see it all, silently judging, and probably laughing about it later at home.

Be Nice With the Check-In Agents. Or Else...

Just like all other airport employees, check-in agents deal with stressed-out travelers daily. But even if you're running out of time, please make sure to treat the check-in agents with respect. Otherwise, there's a chance you'll be paying extra for your luggage.

One check-in agent admitted that, sometimes, she sticks her knee on top of the traveler's luggage to force them to pay for the extra weight. It's a cruel tactic for sure, but one that she admitted not to use whenever the travelers happen to behave nicely.

Special Recipe

The brother of a woman who used to work at airport security went online to tell the story of the weirdest bag his sister had ever encountered. The odd bag was not only filled with a full-size turkey but also with an impressive collection of adult toys! Arguably the weirdest recipe one can ever think of.

It's strange enough to travel with a ready-to-cook turkey, but when you add up a bunch of toys, things get bizarre! Was the turkey supposed to conceal the toys? Was it the other way around? Or were these people simply packing for a romantic dinner abroad?

A Magnet For Trouble

People travel with all kinds of weird stuff. But the story of the man who once took a giant magnet to the airport is probably our favorite. Reported by a former airport employee, the event caused a lot of trouble to the poor staff, who had to remove the giant magnet from the conveyor.

Fortunately, they saw it before the bag reached the plane. The magnet was so powerful that it was destroying the entire structure of the conveyor. It took three grown-man to pull it off, as the magnet was large enough to attract objects 1.5 feet away!

The Wrong Place For Making a Scene

An Australian man employed at Perth's airport witnessed some crazy behavior coming from an angry traveler. After seeing her flight delayed for 7 hours, a woman went mad with rage and decided to antagonize the poor airport staff. She lit a cigarette in a non-smoking area and refused to stop smoking, even when the security showed up!

The result? She missed her already-delayed flight, got in a lot of trouble with the airport police, and had to pay a whopping $10K fine! Do you feel like making a scene in public? Just make sure you're not at the airport first!

Airport Luggage is Downright Scary

Ramp agents are responsible for loading and unloading aircraft luggage, which seems like a simple, easy-going job. But being a ramp agent involves dealing with a lot more than just heavy bags. One former ramp agent went online to tell all about the weirdest things he found at airport bags, and the list is scarily freaky!

It turns out ramp agents also have to be cold-hearted, fearless professionals. In a few years of working with luggage, this man encountered a human head, human eyeballs, human skin, and even a whole human dead body! It's certainly not a job for the easily-scared.

Going Out of Your Way to "Relax"

Fear of flying is a common phobia, but it's in the origin of some reckless passenger behavior. One traveler decided to mix sleeping pills with alcohol to go through her airplane trip, and a poor flight attendant ended up suffering the consequences.

The passenger had a bag full of vomit and was wondering if the flight attendant could take it. As she refused (since the bag is considered to be a biohazard), the out-of-her-mind passenger simply dropped the entire bag of vomit on her and proceeded to scratch her face! For the sake of all flight attendants out there, please don't let your fear of flying take over you.

Trolls Work at The Airport Too

Trolls were popularized online and are people whose main effort is to cause chaos and disruption. But they are not exclusive to social media comments and Internet chats. There are also trolls in real life, and some of them happen to work at the airport.

One staff member admitted having fun providing stressful travelers with wrong directions at the airport. It's tough enough for people to find the way to their gate in a big crowded airport. But with staff workers adding up to the chaos, getting in an airplane on time becomes nearly impossible.

Changing Your Baby's Diaper On Air Is Challenging (And Gross)

For the hardworking moms and dads traveling with their babies, most airplanes have a tray table available. But a flight attendant went online and confessed that these tray tables are rarely sanitized and can have germs and bacteria!

Catching an airplane is one of the most dreadful experiences for the germaphobes out there. But we all expect that the place where our babies are going should be clean. After all, babies are additionally sensitive to germs and diseases. The next time your baby needs to be changed during a flight, be extra careful and make sure to clean the tray with a wet towel first.

Emotional Support Ducks Are a Thing

A woman called Carla Fitzgerald was struggling with PTSD when she had to travel by air. Believing that the stress of traveling was too much for her to bear, she was accompanied by her emotional support duck. Yes, these are a real thing!

The story ended up reaching the news, and Carla's duck, Daniel, ended up becoming a celebrity online. The woman arrived safely and calmly at her destination. As for Daniel the Duck, he ended up having the adventure of his life and made a lot of new friends during the trip.

Is There a Doctor on Board?

This story was shared online by a flight attendant. One of the passengers started vomiting and convulsing quite suddenly, and the crew asked if there was a doctor on board. Soon enough, an ER nurse got up from her seat to assist the afflicted passenger.

When the flight attendant got back to the nurse, she found her covered in vomit. "What happened?" she asked. Comfortably sitting on his seat, the sick traveler seemed to be fine. It turns out the man ordered too many drinks during the flight and was simply very drunk. The entire on-air commotion proved to be for nothing.

A Falconer's Worst Nightmare

Falconers are hired to make sure travelers are safe. The goal is to use trained falcons to prevent smaller birds from entering aircraft motors and causing major accidents. But what happens when a falconer decides to show-off by taking his magnificent bird to the airport bar?

According to an airport witness, total havoc! The falcon spotted some starlings outside the airport and started flying violently towards them. He ended up crashing on the glass and breaking his neck, costing thousands of dollars worth of bird training. The falconer learned his lesson: never use your bird to show-off to other people!

He Would Die For a Litte Bit of Vodka

An airport witness went online to tell the story of a man who refused to let go of his almost-empty bottle of Vodka at airport security. The man had about 20% of Vodka left in the bottle, and the TSA workers were trying to explain to him that he couldn't fly with it.

Determined not to waste his precious booze, the man rapidly chugged all that was left in the bottle. The result? He ended up having a sudden heart attack and causing havoc at the airport. His nationality was never reported, but have you ever heard anything more Russian-sounding than that?

A Mystery Yet to Be Solved

A TSA worker went on Reddit to confess that he'd lost some hours of sleep over his weirdest airport encounter. He was checking the luggage of a man traveling with two suitcases, both filled with nothing but egg cartons. It's already super odd, but gets weirder!

In both suitcases, all egg cartons were empty! The man never said why he was traveling with such a strange cargo, simply pointing out that he wasn't doing anything illegal. He was authorized to continue, but the perplexed TSA workers are still trying to make sense of this today.

Why Two Cities Shouldn't Have the Same Name

When traveling, it's essential to make sure you land in the best possible airport. Some of the world's biggest cities have more than 1 or 2 airports, and it can get confusing to know which one is the best for you. But is it possible to get so confused that you end up traveling to the wrong side of the planet?

This happened to a Spanish family, who was demanding answers from the airport crew! They were supposed to be in Melbourne, Australia, but they seemed to have just landed in the U.S.A. How was it possible? Well, the poor Spanish family had wrongfully bought tickets to Melbourne, Florida. Ouch!

First Class Seat, Low-Class Passenger

The first class is supposed to be a quiet and comfortable place, where the most distinguished (and wealthy) passengers get a chance to sleep and choose drinks and food from the menu. But, as one flight attendant explained, not all first-class passengers live up to their name.

She recalled the story of a minor TV celebrity, whose name was not revealed, who was so drunk during a trip that she forgot her pricy Christian Louboutin shoe on the floor. The woman didn't even notice that she was walking in one high-heel instead of two.

It's Never the Barista's Fault!

Working at the airport bar doesn't look like a tough job. But as one barista explained online, it can be both incredibly boring, and extremely stressful. For all the long hours without clients, there are those busy times of the day in which a crowd of bursting travelers comes screaming for their hot coffees!

Time is a valuable currency for people using the airport, and when coffees are served a little later than expected, people can get angry! The next time you travel, please make sure to visit the bar timely and treat the barista with the respect he/she deserves.

The Wrong Way of Saving Money at the Airport

This crazy story was shared online by a TSA worker. Used to find all kinds of gross stuff in people's luggage, this man was still not prepared for the surprise that was in store for him one day. Inspecting a suspicious bag, he noticed that something was moving. Soon enough, he realized there was a 2-years-old child inside the bag!

It turns out the parents of the child were trying to save some money on that extra third ticket. Naturally, they were stopped at the airport's gate and hopefully forced to suffer the consequences of their unbelievably irresponsible actions.

Airport Workers Suffer Too

Airport chaos is, as we've seen, often originated by the actions of the people who were supposed to keep everything under control. But that doesn't mean that the travelers are always on the line. Whenever a plane gets canceled, people can get incredibly angry!

Reports from people working in these situations are scary! Can you imagine what if must feel like delivering the bad news to a mob of angry people? There are reports of fights, crying, and viciousness, and the ones suffering the most? The poor staff workers who have to deal with it all!

Good & Bad Questions at Airport Security

Poor TSA workers get asked a lot of crazy questions, but some make sense. One guy, for instance, was wondering if the metal detector he was traveling with was authorized to go through the airport's metal detector. It's genuinely reasonable doubt.

Other questions, on the other hand, are simply dumb. For instance, one guy asked TSA if it was okay for him to travel with his chainsaw if the chainsaw had no gas. Well, since it remains a deadly weapon with a big sharp blade, do you need to ask?

BOMB! Oh, Wait...

Just like travelers and people in general, airport security is allowed to make a few mistakes once and then. But sometimes, such errors include misinterpreting completely harmless objects for bombs! One of the funniest mistakes we've found online is about the time TSA workers saw a suspicious object in the X-Ray machine.

Alarmed, they opened the bag to inspect the object they believed to be a bomb. But in the end, it was nothing but a music-playing greeting card! Tacky? Yes. But not tacky enough to take a whole plane down. Still, it's better to be safe than sorry!

Saving Lives Can Be Scary!

A man working for an airline was carrying containers from one place to another when one of the boxes fell in the ground. After hitting the floor, the container opened up. To his horror, a bunch of organs and body parts came out of it and spread all over the warehouse! The man was so scared that he had to take the entire day off.

Fortunately, this was not a case of organ trafficking. The containers had medical supplies, which can include body parts, organs, and blood. Yes, saving lives can be pretty scary, even for the poor airport workers!

No Liquids on the Airplane

Educated travelers are wise enough to learn about the rules of what they can carry in the plane before getting to the airport. Others, not really. At the Bangkok airport, a man was baffled after finding out that his luggage was not considered safe to travel.

What was inside his bag? A whole collection of exotic, live fish, all stuck inside bags containing water! Somehow, this man believed it was okay to smuggle a bunch of live fish to a different country. The poor airport staff spent a couple of hours explaining to him why he was wrong.

Do Babies Do It On Purpose?

Having a baby on board can be utterly cute or excruciatingly painful. While some babies tend to sleep and look adorable during the whole trip, others can spend hours crying loudly. But is there a chance that some babies out there just do it on purpose?

A Reddit user shared a story about a baby who cried for the whole duration of a plane trip, except when the captain was making announcements. Every time the loudspeaker went on, he stopped to listen to the security measures. Then, right after, he started sobbing wildly, much to the desperation of the other passengers and crew.

Some People Hate Wasting Food

A man called Celestine told his Twitter followers all about the crazy thing that happened to his airplane food during his most recent plane flight. The man fell asleep before the food was delivered, and when he woke up, it was all gone!

Trying to find answers, he asked the woman sitting by his side about it. She simply said that she'd eaten everything because she didn't want the food to get cold and go bad. Poor Celestine couldn't believe her courage! He ended up feeling hungry, but it's okay. After all, it was just airplane food.

Grown-Ups are Just Little Kids Anyway

This happened in a small and quiet airport and involved a grown-up woman. She fell asleep while waiting for her flight and ended up missing her plane, despite being called on the loudspeaker numerous times. When she woke up, she was in a complete state of horror!

Not only did she scream at the staff, but she also called her mommy to continue complaining. Later, she continued making a scene by hysterically running to the bathroom. She ended up being dragged outside by security. That's what happens when a full-grown woman acts like a baby!

Different Food For the Co-Pilot

Airplane food is infamous for being dry, tasteless, and weird. In the pilot's cabin, airplane food doesn't look or taste any better. But in every single flight, the pilot and the co-pilot are forbidden from eating the same type of food. It's a rule not many people know about, which is meant to increase the flight's safety.

By eating different food, the pilot and the co-pilot have lower chances of getting poisoned or having an allergic reaction. This way, the co-pilot would always be able to continue flying the plane in case the pilot felt indisposed.

Airports Are Perfect For Scammers

A former airport barista has confessed online that scammers constantly targetted her at the airport. One of such scammers was a woman, asking for $60 for a bus ticket back home. The woman was supposed to get back to Boston but got her purse "stolen" at the airport...

At first, the barista was touched by the woman's story but eventually decided to give her nothing but a free coffee and snack. She did not regret that decision! In the next few days, the woman was still lurking around the airport, focusing more on scamming people than on catching that bus back to Boston.

Is It Worth It?

As we've seen, people working at the airport, as well as flight attendants, have jobs way tougher than we thought. So, why do they still do it? To pay the bills, surely, but also because there's a big perk to being an airport or airline employee.

The greatest benefit of working with airplanes is free tickets! Employees are not only allowed to travel for free to anywhere in the world, but they can also provide their friends and family with bunches of free and discounted airplane tickets. To those who enjoy traveling and getting to know new cultures, is there any bigger gift than that?