Many people know the old travel superstition about boarding a plane with your right foot first, but what is the origin of it, and is there any meaning behind it?
Flying can make plenty of passengers uneasy, which is why telling someone to have a safe trip is such a common send-off. Some travellers also have their own rituals, including brushing a hand against the outside of the aircraft as they board in the hope of bringing themselves good luck.
That leads to another familiar belief: which foot you should use first when stepping onto the plane.
If you tend to follow superstitions, the traditional answer is the right foot. The idea is tied to very old beliefs about luck and protection at the start of a journey.
Across many ancient Mediterranean traditions, the right side was often treated as the favourable side, while the left could be seen as unlucky or inauspicious. That symbolic split has echoed through later customs in different cultures and faiths, helping explain why so many rituals still encourage people to begin important actions on the right.
Luck experts at Casino Khajana and celebrity psychic Inbaal Honigman reveal: “The way you step onto a plane matters more than you might think. Rooted in ancient maritime customs and ancient beliefs, stepping aboard with the right foot is believed to set the tone for the entire journey – quite literally starting the trip ‘on the right foot’.
“For some travellers, a brief, conscious pause at the aircraft door is also used to symbolically welcome good energy and calm nerves.”
So where does this belief come from?
Inbaal says the roots go back to the Ancient Greeks and Romans, who ‘believed the right side was auspicious and associated with positive energy’.
Because of that, ‘beginning anything with the right foot was seen as bringing better fortune’.
That idea is not limited to the ancient world either, as similar customs appear across a range of faiths and cultures.
“Even in Islamic, Portuguese and Hindu traditions, starting things on the right side is believed to lead to more favourable outcomes,” Inbaal reveals.
So for anyone who takes these traditions seriously, paying attention to that first step onto the aircraft might feel worth it.
And for those who are even more devoted to travel superstitions, Inbaal also shared one unusual item said to belong in your luggage.
It is a clove of garlic.
This belief also comes from historic custom, specifically Balkan folk traditions, where garlic has long been associated with protection from the ‘evil eye’.
Applied to travel, it is thought to help keep bad luck away while you are on your trip.
According to Inbaal, it’s not just to ward off evil eye, in fact, she says: “When travelling over water, garlic is even said to protect from drowning.”
And as for the habit of touching the side of the plane before getting on?
That ritual may also serve a psychological purpose, as it ‘could help anxious flyers feel a greater sense of control’.
In other words, even if the gesture has no practical effect on the flight itself, it can still give nervous passengers a moment to steady themselves before take-off.
It is said to have links to military pilots, who ‘remember tapping the aircraft in times of conflict’.