Flying is one of the safest forms of travel out there, but it doesn’t always feel that way.
Featured VideoRecent events have turned even frequent flyers into hesitant ones. A study from March 2025 found that 65% of respondents were more nervous to fly due to recent incidents.
Not helping matters is the current state of the FAA, or Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA has been underfunded and understaffed for decades, but over time, this situation has gotten substantially worse.
Over 90% of the country’s air traffic control facilities fall below the FAA’s recommended staffing levels, per the New York Times, and 37% of the FAA’s air traffic control systems are presently unsustainable, meaning that they are difficult or impossible to repair or modernize.
AdvertisementGiven the ubiquity of stories like these, it’s no surprise that some people are a little more freaked out about flying, especially when their plane looks like the one featured in a recent video from TikTok user Annie (@annie.bao).
What went wrong with this flight?
In her video, which currently has over 7 million views, Annie shows a group of seats on a Vueling flight. The seats have been taped off, and on the seats are signs that say “DO NOT USE” and “INOP.”
“When they say only 110 passengers can board and you get on the plane and see this,” she writes in the text overlaying the video.
AdvertisementIn the caption, the TikToker adds, “the hunger games flight edition.”
For context, INOP is short for “inoperable.” According to a blog post for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, seats can be declared INOP for a variety of reasons, including non-functioning seat belts, tray tables that don’t stow away properly, or broken recline functions.
In a follow-up video, Annie states that the seats were blocked off because an emergency exit door was broken. She added that the flight was delayed by two hours as a result, making the rest of her travel day difficult.
While some may question why the plane was still allowed to fly with an allegedly broken emergency exit, commercial aircraft are certified with a specific maximum seating capacity based on the number and type of emergency exits. If access is lost to one of these emergency exits, the plane will likely still be able to fly, only at a reduced capacity and with certain seats blocked off, as demonstrated in Annie’s video.
AdvertisementVueling responds
In an email to the Daily Dot, a Vueling spokesperson confirmed the incident occurred.
“In this case, we followed all safety requirements and left the seats near that exit door vacant, making sure all passengers had access to the closest emergency exits and adhering to the aircraft’s operational procedures,” a representative said. “Our top priority is to guarantee our customers’ safety at all times while taking them to their final destination, so we conducted all the necessary processes to ensure our customers enjoyed a safe journey.”
@annie.baoAdvertisementthe hunger games flight edition
♬ suono originale – BRAINROT-77
“I don’t trust that plane.”
Although the TikToker’s explanation may have made sense, commenters still weren’t sure if they would trust the plane given these issues.
“I fear I’d get off and go home, no matter how cheap or expensive the tickets were,” wrote a user.
“They could literally be missing a cap on an arm rest that you would never notice, and still be told they have to mark them inop. Sometimes the rules they have to follow are ridiculous,” countered another.
Advertisement“I don’t know if I’d want to be on a plane with that many things marked INOP,” declared a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Annie via email.
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