Bemused flyers board aeroplanes expecting to find McDonald’s restaurants and massage parlours on board, Virgin Atlantic cabin crew have revealed. Some passengers fail to understand why they are prevented from opening the window, while others would like the engines to be “turned down” to reduce the noise.

The foolish and sometimes bizarre questions asked of flight attendants were disclosed after 3,000 Virgin Atlantic cabin crew members listed the most unusual customer requests they had experienced.

Among the most common queries was “Please can you open the window?”, from unpleasant passengers who had failed to appreciate the benefits of a pressurised cabin at 35,000 feet.

Other unique questions fielded by Virgin staff included “Could you turn the engines down because they are too noisy?” and “Please can the Captain stop the turbulence?”

The survey of 3,000 cabin crew also laid bare the level of comfort and service some customers expect, with several asking flight attendants “Can you show me to the showers?”

One crew member was asked to book a massage for a Barbie doll, while flight attendants were also asked to help a customer locate a missing glass eye.

Other customers, who may have overvalued the amount of space on their aircraft, asked: “Can you take my children to the playroom?” and “Is there a McDonald’s onboard?”.

Caroline Lynam, customer relations manager at Virgin Atlantic, says: “Virgin Atlantic crew will always go that extra mile to offer our customers the best possible service but there are some requests that even we find somewhat challenging.”