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The ‘civic sense’ of Indian fliers is under fire again due to the bad behaviour of some unruly fliers. Thanks to viral videos of a family group (approx. 15 fliers) passing plates of Gujarati homemade snacks (dhokla, thepla, chutney, fafda, jalebi) to one another, turning the Indigo flight into an ‘open cafetaria’ at 30,000 feet. The group is seen going up and down the aisle, some standing on the seats, least bothered about safety rules, invasion of privacy and inconvenience caused to other fliers.

After landing, several co-passengers complained online that the food odour lingered for the rest of the 2-hour journey. Some even asked the airline and DGCA to put the family under India’s “No Fly List.”

Unlimited Fun & Embarrassment

For a country that takes pride in telling the world about ‘Atithi Devo Bhavo’ it is rather painful to see how some badly-behaved fliers disrespect local culture and bring ‘second hand shame’ to other well-behaved Indian travellers. Some said the clip made them “cringe as an Indian.”

Every country has its share of loud passengers, queue jumpers, unruly tourists and public-space offenders. British tourists have stereotypes attached to them. Australians have them. Americans have them. Tourists from several European countries have them. The difference today is that a phone camera can turn one person's bad behaviour into an international identity crisis within minutes. And before you know it, these bumpkins bring shame to a nation of 1.4 billion people.

“There's a difference between celebrating your culture and assuming everyone around you wants to participate in it,” says Reena Tiwari, Behaviour Expert. “The problem is not garba, Indian food or loud families. The problem is failing to recognise when a shared public space requires restraint.”

A Repeat Pattern

Over the past few years, social media has become an archive of badly-behaved fliers and tourists. There have been incidents where the behaviour has crossed from poor etiquette into outright disrespect. (See box: Hall of Shame).

Each of these incidents individually might read as a minor lapse in etiquette. But collectively, they give a wrong impression about Indian travellers. “It is sad but true that some hotels and airbnb hosts are weary of hosting Indian tourists,” admits Sheetal Deo, an international travel advisor and coordinator.

Hooliganism Under Disguise


It doesn't stop at the airport gate. A latest video shared on X shows a boisterous group of Indian tourists, singing and dancing on German public transit, disturbing other commuters. “I hope the Germans find these noise-making hooligans and not only cancel their permissions to be in Germany but ban them forever,” a user wrote in a post that has since racked up thousands of ‘Likes’ and shares. The clip has struck a raw nerve. “The fundamental principle of public behaviour is simple: your freedom ends where another person's comfort and safety begin,” says Tiwari.

The Psychological Point


Psychologists who study group behaviour say there's a well-documented reason large groups act differently in public than individuals do. “It's a form of diffusion of responsibility,” explains Tiwari. “When you're travelling in a big family or a group, the sense of individual accountability drops. People feel emboldened to do things like sing loudly, dance, or spread food around. Things that they'd never do alone because the group provides social cover.”

There is also a phenomenon psychologists describe as deindividuation, where people can become less conscious of individual responsibility when they are immersed in a group.

Tushar Vaidya, a travel expert and social observer opines that food, music and dance are some of the things that make Indian travellers who they are. “But when you take those things into a shared space, you also have to consider the people who haven’t chosen to be part of your celebration,” he adds.

Outbound Indian travel has grown enormously in the last decade. But there is clearly an awareness gap among first-time international travellers about what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. “They need to be told about local culture, table manners and social etiquette in shared public spaces, ” Deo says.

Pushback Time

Critics of the “civic sense” point out that unruly tourist behaviour is hardly unique to Indians. There are viral clips of drunken European stag parties, American tourists defacing monuments, or Chinese and Russian tour groups causing disruptions. Many Indians argue that videos of Indian travellers get disproportionate traction online because of existing stereotypes. “A few loud families are being used to caricature an entire, hugely diverse population, one that includes sophisticated business travellers, well-behaved students and tourists,” says Kanisha Rao, a frequent traveller.

The Takeaway


The practical advice from travel experts is consistent: read the room, and read the rules. Airlines and countries are watching. Some destinations have already begun quietly discouraging bookings from disruptive tour profiles. Immigration and transport authorities in several countries have signalled zero tolerance for behaviour that disturbs public peace.

The challenge, then, is not to leave our culture behind when we travel, but to carry it with awareness of the shared spaces we enter. Eating familiar food, speaking your language or celebrating with family is not the issue; it becomes a problem when personal habits inconvenience others.

For any traveller, being proud of where you come from and being considerate of where you are can and should coexist. Bon Voyage!

Hall Of Shame

• Four Indian tourists were detained after they allegedly carved their names into Cathedral Rock in Arizona, a site considered sacred by Native American communities.

• Indian tourists faced flak for defying safety rules and dancing to “Chaiyya Chaiyya” as a train approached Hanoi's Train Street, Vietnam.

• There are videos of desi tourists chomping pungent mooli parathas mid-flight, leaving other travellers visibly gagging and asking crew for air freshener.

• Another video shows a noisy group breaking into impromptu Antakshari songs

and dancing in the aisles of a red-eye flight. Irate passengers who wanted to sleep described it as “a wedding sangeet nobody consented to attend.”

• There are videos of people eating khakhra, pav bhaji, dhokla, puris and then shoving the soiled plates and wrappers in the seat pockets.

• Videos of Indian tourists doing garba on the tarmac beside an aircraft in Vietnam.

• Videos of a big tourist group dancing and singing near the Burj Khalifa, Dubai.


When you’re travelling in a big family or a group, the sense of individual accountability drops.”

— Reena Tiwari, Behaviour Expert

Some hotels and airbnb hosts are weary of hosting Indian tourists.”

— Sheetal Deo, International Travel Advisor & Coordinator

But when you take those things into a shared space, you also have to consider the people who haven’t chosen to be part of your celebration.”

— Tushar Vaidya, Travel Expert

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