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Imagine being on line at the airport during a time of year where the airport is super crowded. There’s one queue that goes horribly slow and another line that goes faster because of advanced technology that some people have in their flying documents. A woman and her husband were on a faster line and a man who had been on the slower line suddenly realized he could be on the faster line. So he asked the woman if he could go in front of her. She, who had already been on line for 90 minutes, said no.

Such was the story someone wrote on Reddit the other day, on their “AITA” section. The initials represent the term, “Am I The A-Hole.” The community is defined as, “A catharsis for the frustrated moral philosopher in all of us, and a place to finally find out if you were wrong in an argument that’s been bothering you. Tell us about any non-violent conflict you have experienced; give us both sides of the story, and find out if you’re right, or you’re the a-hole.” It’s kind of like a “jury of your peers” sort of thing and you may eventually be determined to YTA (You’re The A-Hole) or NTA (Not The A-Hole).

Here’s the original post (edited only for adult language):

AITAH for not letting someone cut in line at the airport?

OK this may seem really stupid but I honestly feel bad BUT also like, why should I? My husband and I recently flew back from Amsterdam. At Schiphol Airport (Amsterdam) the line to get to security/passport check was literally outside the airport with multiple snake like lines to get there. We were in line for an hr and a half before we got to passports. We had a chip in ours so luckily, we did the self service area. We had 2 people in front of us before it was our turn and a man from the non chip line came up to me and put himself in front of us and said he was in the wrong line I need to be here. I said… OK well the line is back there (maybe 10 people deep on our line) and he said no he was just in the wrong line can he please go ahead of us. I immediately said no because our flight was boarding 20 mins ago and we had 10 mins to get to the gate which was of course, the farthest possible. He kept saying “were in this together”? And that I should let him through. My husband cut in and said no and that’s that. He then asked the guy in back of us and he said yes. This is the first time I’ve ever been like NO to someone. I usually don’t mind helping if someone is in a rush or forgot something while in line but this time, after almost 2 hrs of trying not to miss my flight, I feel like putting my foot down was justified but I can’t help but wonder, AITAH?

There weren’t a whole lot of responses, but they were overwhelmingly in the original poster’s (OP’s) favor:

• NTA – He was being a d**k and queue jumping. I don’t even particularly like it when people ask if they can cut in line but he just pushed in front of you. If you’re all in this together then he can go to the back of the queue where he belongs. — EagleSevenFoxThree
• NTA. It’s not your fault he was in the wrong line, that’s his responsibility. Respect to him for asking and not just cutting, but you said no and he should’ve respected that. You literally were in a rush to not miss your flight, if he had the same situation then maybe you’d be “in this together” but he just didn’t want to go in the back of the line. — Wthgguk
• NTA “we’re in this together”….so was he paying for your tickets then… — rainbowdance
• NTA – I hate when people line jump. I had a lady at the grocery store literally jam her cart into me trying to bully her way in front of me. I stood my ground and got a bruise from the cart. She ended up cutting behind me. But people that do that are entitled and rude — k_ber_86
• NTA. You were right to tell him No. That guy was playing you. It would be one thing if he asked, but he knew exactly what he was doing by ‘pushing nicely’ and scamming his way in. — TrainingDearest
• (in reply to the above response) Right. And then he asks the guy behind them. Well guess what, he needs to ask everybody in the frickin line because he is making it take longer for all of them! — Corduroycat1
• Nta. He knew a lot of people would probably just say yes to avoid the drama, you had every right to say no and you should feel bad about it. — Invisibleamber
• NTA.. You’re under no obligation to let anyone cut…it’s not your fault they can’t figure out what line to be in. — The_Fires_Of_Orc
• NTA. You aren’t in it together. His failure to verify where he needed to be was entirely his own problem. Bet he wasn’t gonna but you a new flight it you missed yours — AtLeqstOneTypo

In this particular situation, I would 100% agree she wasn’t being an A-hole. If the guy was going to miss his plane, that would have been one thing. We’ve let people like that go in front of us, and once had to be those people, when we misjudged how crowded the airport would be at 6 o’clock in the morning. During those situations, you should have your boarding pass out so people can see you really are at risk of missing your plane if you don’t get through the queue fast. You may also consider getting someone with authority to let you cut the line “legally.”

But this guy? Didn’t sound like this was the case. Plus the OP herself was concerned about missing HER plane. There was no need to let him cut in front of her, and had she, she and her husband possibly could have missed their flight.

For what it’s worth, Schiphol even has recommendations for queues on their website:

Am I in the right queue?

When it’s busy at Schiphol, it can be difficult to know if you are in the right queue. If you still need to check in or drop off your baggage, you should queue up for the check-in desks. Look for your flight on the screens or use the Schiphol app to find out which desk you need to be at. If you have already checked in and you have either already dropped off your bags or only have hand baggage, you can go straight to the queue for the security check. If you are not sure where to queue up, you can always ask a Schiphol employee. Some queues start outside of the departure hall. This is to help ensure that you join the correct queue. Look carefully at the signs to check you’re in the right place.

NTA.

Feature Photo: Schiphol

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