I can never sleep on planes. But it’s not because of crying babies, the lack of leg room, or the smelly, shifty guy that I always seem to sit next to. No, above all else, I blame the deafening rumble of the engines for keeping me awake.
So that’s why I was surprised to see that some pilots are complaining that they can’t sleep on the massive Airbus A380 because the plane is– get this– too quiet. “We’re getting a lot of complaints. It’s not something we expected,” says Emirates Vice President Ed Davidson.
On most long flights where pilots need to catch some shut-eye, the loud engines drown out the sound of passenger noise, flushing toilets, and the inevitable “dings.” But on the surprisingly quiet A380, pilots say they’re being kept awake by all the cabin noise, which travels right through their ear plugs.
Unsolicited tip: Get some better ear plugs. Problem solved.
More here. Slate reviews the best ear plugs here.
Other tales from the skies
Amazing and insane stories from a real-life flight attendant and co-pilot