In-flight safety, why do we keep the curtains up in Europe but not in America?
Have you ever wondered why on an airplane you are asked, every time, to keep the window shades up both [...]
Have you ever wondered why on an airplane you are asked, every time, to hold the window shades up on both takeoff and landing? Those who are used to traveling have now developed a kind of automatism. No flight habitual in Europe (or most of the world) would think of sitting in their seat and immediately lowering the curtain. The call from flight attendants would be almost instantaneous.
In this article:
Below we explain the reasons behind this request from the aircrew. The cue to return to this topic is a news item from the United States. Did you know that in the US this practice is not in use? So one wonders what is different between the two continents.
Why raise the curtains in the airplane
There are different reasons for aircrew to demand that window shades remain up during takeoff and landing. All are related to the issue of safety. As much as traveling by airplane is a decidedly safe practice, far more so than by car (statistically speaking), it should not be forgotten that it is in any case an artificial medium in flight, subjected to numerous external stresses.
Aircrew must always be prepared for the worst. For this reason, it is preferred to have as much visibility of the external environment as possible during the most sensitive phases of the journey: takeoff and landing. It is thus possible to assess external conditions, detecting possible fires or debris. This is the main reason, to which a second is added.
Flight attendants actually exploit the great and well-known curiosity of passengers. Everyone tends to look out with special interest during the early and late stages of a flight, even those who are not properly seated in front of the window. Keeping all the curtains up allows you to have an organic security system in place, so to speak. In the event of safety problems of various kinds placed outside, passengers would immediately alert the staff, effectively initiating the prescribed procedures. In the event of an airplane emergency, timing is everything and this saves key seconds to save lives.
What is happening in America
Having finally discovered the importance of keeping the window shades up in airplanes during takeoff and landing, let us try to explain why the same does not happen in the United States. The example of American flights is given because in most of the rest of the world the procedure is active.
United Airlines had tried to comply, but recently retraced its steps. The company actually explained how this onboard security practice will no longer be required, mainly because no other carrier has followed suit. An experiment lasted two years, from March 2020 to March 2022. An attempt to change the situation unfortunately failed.
Association of Flight Attendants fights to have the importance of this practice recognized precisely in relation to safety on board, considering the several recorded cases of passengers reporting emergencies with the help of the windows.
The union had welcomed the decision by United Airlines, but in the past two years there has been a failure to get a change in FAA, or Federal Aviation Administration, rules.
The carrier explains in a note how its passengers will continue to be asked to lower their window shades at the end of their journey on particularly hot days. Under no circumstances, however, will they be asked to keep them up during takeoff and landing (this request remains valid for rows corresponding to emergency exits, but it should be stressed that this is not an obligation).
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