If you’ve ever had the pleasure of having a window seat, then you’ll have likely been told to lift the window shade before takeoff or ahead of landing.
It’s all good to have the window blind down while cruising at 30,000 feet, but flight attendants will typically instruct passengers to lift the blind prior to takeoff and landing.
But why is that?
Well, flight attendant Cher, who posts travel videos to TikTok under the handle @cherdallas, revealed the very good reason why you have to be able to see out of the window.
She said: “There are a couple of US airlines that still do this. It’s requiring you to open your window shade for a taxi, take-off, and landing.
“If you’ve ever had to do that and you’re wondering why, just look at all of the news stories of pieces of the plane flying off or engines being on fire. If you think about where the flight attendants and pilots are sitting, we do not have a clear vantage point of the wing.”
Cher continued: “We can’t see the entire plane from our seats. Airlines that require you to open your window shade are making sure that if something falls off, or something is on fire, or something is broken, that passenger’s gonna see it and alert a crew member.”
Many have flocked to the comments section of the TikTok video, with many learning something new after watching the clip.
“I always thought the window shades was to have your eyes adjusted to the light,” one person commented while a second added: “It drives me bonkers when everyone leaves the shades down for take off and landing. It’s like have some situational-awareness in your life.”
Window shades are typically up for takeoff and landing (Getty Stock Photo)
These claims have been backed up by pilot Patrick Smith, who told Travel+Leisure: “Raising your window shade during takeoff and landing makes it easier for the flight attendants to assess any exterior hazards, like fire or debris, that might interfere with an emergency evacuation.
“It also helps you remain oriented if there’s a sudden impact with rolling or tumbling.”
Reports from both Boeing and Airbus state the most fatal accidents happen during takeoff and landing, hence the reason to have the window shades up for added visibility.
“Approach and landing are highly complex flight phases, which place significant demands on the crew in terms of navigation, aircraft configuration changes, communication with air traffic control, congested airspace, and degraded weather conditions,” the Airbus report says.
