I witnessed this rude behavior on a plane — and a flight attendant called it “so selfish”

As a travel writer, I’ve been on more flights than I can count — so I’ve seen my fair share of questionable airplane behavior. But what I witnessed on a short hop from Las Vegas to Los Angeles earlier today really stuck with me — and not just because it was plain rude. It’s because even a flight attendant pulled no punches in describing what she saw.

The moment the plane landed at my home airport of LAX, before the seatbelt sign was off, passengers from the back rows began rushing up the aisle — bypassing dozens of others who were waiting their turn to deplane in the usual, orderly row-by-row fashion.

My husband and I were seated in row 17, watching person after person barrel ahead, oblivious (or willfully ignorant) to the basic etiquette most frequent flyers follow without question.

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Here’s where it got interesting: I happened to be seated next to an off-duty flight attendant. She watched in disbelief and muttered, “Makes me crazy. It’s just so selfish. We all want to get off the plane.”

It was refreshing to hear such an unfiltered take — especially from someone who works in the industry and sees it all. When I mentioned to her that Turkey recently introduced fines for passengers who stand or move around before the seatbelt sign is turned off, her reaction was immediate: “Oh, I like that.”Read more: Now you can actually get fined for this annoying airplane behavior

(The new policy, from the Turkish Directorate General of Civil Aviation, allows fines of about 2,603 Turkish lira (around $66 USD) for violating this safety rule. The aim is to reduce risk and maintain order during the final — and often overlooked — phase of the flight. When planes are taxiing, sudden stops or sharp turns can still occur, and passengers in the aisles or reaching into overhead bins are at risk of injury. It also puts unnecessary pressure on flight attendants trying to maintain control amid the rush.)

To be clear, this isn’t about being overly uptight or abiding rules just for their own sake. It’s about respect. Everyone on the plane has somewhere to be — but cutting in line just creates frustration and chaos for everyone else.

So just in case you’re tempted to sprint past half the cabin as soon as the wheels touch down... how about don't. Wait your turn. We’ll all get off the plane eventually.

Yahoo CreatorAlesandra DubinAlesandra (Alice) Dubin is an award-winning travel and lifestyle journalist. She has a BA from UC Berkeley and an MA in journalism from NYU. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their twins.FollowFollow