Please, for the love of all that is holy, don’t clap when the crew shows up after a delay.
We are almost never late for the reason you think we are, and clapping isn’t the friendly gesture people think it is. From our side, it’s usually the result of schedules, legalities, reroutes, or operational messes that we were also stuck dealing with, even though we showed up to work on time.
Walking up to the gate after being delayed ourselves and being greeted with clapping is honestly frustrating and sets a weird tone before the flight even starts.
I promise, it’s unnecessary.