Female pilot mistaken for flight attendant by airport employee

Charlie Herbert

She says it’s a ‘common occurrence’

A female pilot has voiced her frustration after a colleague mistook her for a flight attendant as she was sat in the plane’s cockpit.

TikToker @sabrinaleej’s video shared the awkward interaction in a video on the platform, which has racked up 1.8 million views.

The clip shows the 22-year-old sitting in a plane’s cockpit wearing her pilot uniform with a bemused look on her face.

Sabrina explained that a gate agent had presumed she was a cabin crew member and added that people make similar presumptions all the time when they see her in the airport.

Across her video, Sabrina wrote: “Gate agent looked me in the eye today, asked if I was the flight attendant. (Common occurrence).”

She added the caption: “It’s jarring to me because they work at an airport. You know what the pilot uniforms are.”

@sabrinaleej Its jarring to me because they work at an airport. You know what the pilot uniforms are ? #pilotsoftiktok #airlines #fyp #bruh ♬ Miss You (Sped Up Version) – _

Many were quick to voice their support for the pilot, labelling the interaction “unacceptable

One person commented: “As a flight attendant, I’m offended for you. Unacceptable. They KNOW our uniforms,” while a third commented: “Ask if they’ve been drinking on the job.

Someone else suggested Sabrina should have hit back at the employee by asking them if “they’re the janitor.”

Another said she should have replied: “’Oh honey noooo… this is a PILOT uniform’ real slow and nice.”

And some wondered whether the gate agent had made the comment deliberately, wondering how he could possibly have made the mistake accidentally when the pilot and cabin crew uniforms are so different.

One wrote: “The uniform is so different… they knew what they were doing.”

In a follow-up video, Sabrina explained that being mistaken for a flight attendant wasn’t the issue at hand.

She clarified in a second video: “Being called a flight attendant is not an insult.

“It’s an insult when it’s used to try to put me down after all my hard work. When you do that, you are insulting both me and flight attendants.”

@sabrinaleej I love FA’s! Its just not me tho #pilotsoftiktok #flightattendants #airlinepilot #fyp ♬ originalljud – v£loxotic

She received further praise for the post, with one person writing: “YES! Pilot training and flight attendant training are very different but BOTH very valid and impressive. Keep killin’ it girl!”

Another TikToker added: “As a flight attendant currently going through flight training, thanks for saying this. We have different jobs, but BOTH matter so much. We’re a team.”

“Yes THIS. As a former FA and current pilot this is what needs to be said,” commented another person.