But if you were, you’d noticed the crew are stood near the door and ready to welcome every passenger onboard with a warm hello as you pass by and head towards your seat.
So why does this happen? Surely the cabin crew aren’t feeling particularly chatty before having to rattle through the in-flight safety demonstration and argue with passengers why it’s important to sit in their assigned seat.
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A flight attendant spilled the beans in a viral TikTok (Getty Stock Image)
You’ll therefore be not-so-surprised to learn that cabin crew aren’t feeling chatty when you board the flight, with the greeting being a crafty way of taking stock of the type of passengers travelling.
We’re not joking either, as flight attendant Rania (@itsmekikooooo) explained the action in a viral post on TikTok.
“Your flight attendant greets you, not only out of politeness, but also to check whether you are too drunk or sick to fly,” she explained.
Not only this, checking people out is also to analyse which passengers could help cabin crew in the unfortunate event of an emergency, she added in the video’s description.
This makes a lot of sense when you think about it.
Have you ever wondered why you’re greeted by cabin crew as you board the plane? (Getty Stock Image)
A second flight attendant would also chime in on the debate, sharing a description of the type of person crew would be looking to for help in the event of an emergency.
“We look for anyone who hasn’t got any mobility issues, can speak English, looks like they will be able to open a door and ideally travelling alone,” they wrote.
“That makes you an ABP (able-bodied passenger).”
So if you fit this particular description, don’t be surprised if you’re called on should your journey take an unfortunate turn. Although you’d hope to never be in this situation.
The revelation led several viewers to do an internal review of their behaviour when boarding a plane, with one person commenting: “Me with headphones walking on the plane completely ignoring the flight attendants…”
A second person joked: “Ah okay this makes a lot of sense, I always get the same look going on flights.”
A third user even chimed in that not only where they aware of the rule, but had made sure not to look ‘too sick’ when boarding a flight once. “I had pancreatitis when I was in Corfu, I acted normal going on to the plane; otherwise, I knew they wouldn’t let me on.”
