AITAH for skipping the bathroom line to wash my hands?
A Reddit user shares a story about skipping the bathroom line at an airport to quickly wash their hands, only to face criticism from another person waiting. The situation sparks questions about etiquette and fairness in shared public spaces. Read the full story below to decide for yourself.
‘ AITAH for skipping the bathroom line to wash my hands?’
I (30sF) was recently at the airport for a flight. I went to the ladies’ bathroom to wash my hands about 15 mins before boarding (so I could have waited). There was a line of about half a dozen women, and I made eye contact with the one at the front of line and told her I was just going to wash my hands.
She had no issue with it. There were 2 sections of sinks, and I went to the one closest to the entrance. The next 5 sinks to the left of me were all unused in the time I was washing my hands.
As I walked out barely a minute later, a woman towards the end of the line cupped her hands around her mouth as if to broadcast to everyone and said in a very condescending tone “there’s a lineeeee” and laughed at herself.
I was so taken aback that anyone had any issues with this that I only managed to mutter “I was just washing my hands so…” as I walked out. I really didn’t see an issue with what I did cause I did not cause anyone to wait in line any longer than they would have,
nor did I take up a sink that people ahead of me needed. But now I’m not so sure – what is the general public consensus of skipping the bathroom line to use an available sink? Was I the AH for doing so?
Here’s the input from the Reddit crowd:
Competitive_Cod_3843 − NTA. The line was for the toilets, not for the sink.
Khantahr − NTA. Tell that lady not to worry, you peed in a sink, so it didn’t hold up the line at all.
Sadie_348 − NTA. Some people are just miserable
SoggySassodil − Clearly NTA, it scares me that some people are so brain broken that they behave this way in real life, obviously the line is for the toilets.
PossumJenkinsSoles − NTA but I would assume she didn’t know you were just washing your hands if you only told the person at the front and she was at the back. Probably looked to her like you skipped the line and were in and out because of it.
But this is going to go down on my list of reasons I’d never speak up publicly on my perceived slights like line skippers. When you’re wrong or missing key information you look end up looking like a fool.
Few_Recover_6622 − NTA. I would have done the same thing back to her and said, “NOT FOR THE SINKS.”
AussieKoala-2795 − NTA. I do this a lot. My hands always seem to feel gross and sticky at airports.
FOCOMojo − You did nothing wrong. The i**ot who made the “announcement” clearly didn’t understand what had happened, but she still decided to inject herself into it all.
RueAreYou − Sounds like the nice lady at the post office who insists I wait in line to drop off packages THAT HAVE PRE-PAID LABELS.
ResidentLadder − “You’re waiting in line to wash your hands?”
Do you think it’s acceptable to bypass a line for a quick use of an open sink, or should everyone wait their turn regardless of the purpose? How would you handle such a situation? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!