Why are airline passengers asked to lift up window shades during takeoff and landing?
I have always wondered why the windows shades have to be raised during take off and landing. I can't think of any safety issues by having a closed window.
Best Answer
The majority of airline evacuations happen as a result of events during takeoff and landing. The reason to open the windows is to see outside. For example, you do not want to open the emergency exit door over the wing if the wing is on fire. Combine the two and one concludes that it is a good idea to open the windows during takeoff and landing.
My source is a flight attendant that I asked this question of a while back.
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Why do they ask you to open window shades for takeoff and landing?
Therefore, airlines require passengers to open their window shades during takeoffs and landings to allow for eyesight adjustment. It acclimates passengers' eyes to the outside environment so that they can exit the airplane if an emergency occurs.Why do blinds need to be up when the plane takes off?
If anything happens during a take-off or landing, your eyes will already be used to the day or night light outside, thus you will be able to react more quickly. Another reason for keeping the blinds open is visibility of aircraft outside.Why are windows up during takeoff and landing?
If an emergency occurs on the runway, passengers and crew may need to immediately evacuate the plane. Without adapting to outdoor conditions, they may not be fully aware of their surroundings. By opening the shades during takeoffs and landings, it may be easier for individuals to safely exit the plane.Why are window shades kept open during take off \u0026 landing?
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Answer 2
Slightly different (and more cynical) view: Air Canada wants them open, United doesn't care. Lufthansa wants you to take the headsets off during take off and landing, Delta doesn't care. If there was a really good reason for these types of measure, the airlines would use them consistently. No airline is interested in a spotty safety record, so they probably take a good look at these procedures before the decide to adopt them or not. This would indicate that most of these are feel-good measures with no real scientific support.
The only notable exception would be extra revenue for the airlines: until recently it was absolutely forbidden to use any wireless device in transmitting mode during a flight since it clearly wasn't safe. But then the airlines figured they can charge for WIFI during a flight and all of a sudden it's perfectly fine to have dozens of WIFI nodes on the plane blasting at full throttle.
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