A question frequently asked here and elsewhere: why do the flight attendants ask us to open the window blinds on takeoff and landing?
Well, it’s very simple: to allow you to enjoy the view!
No, in fact it is much more prosaic than that: it is for security reasons. Knowing that these are the two most critical periods of the flight, some specific precautions are taken.
During a takeoff or landing, knowing what is going on outside can save your life
Imagine a takeoff or landing that goes wrong. Not all emergency exits may be usable even if they can be opened (in case of fire or if once outside you find yourself stuck without being able to get away….) and knowing that staff are required to evacuate the cabin within 90 seconds (regardless of the size of the aircraft and the number of passengers) this allows them to to identify immediately the exits not to be used so as not to waste time or make the situation worse.
This also allows passengers to have their eyes accustomed to the ambient light (again in case of evacuation). Imagine that when you get out to evacuate and have to get away from the plane as quickly as possible in a sometimes hostile environment (especially in the case of an emergency landing outside an airport…) you are dazzled by the emergency exit (during the day) or, on the contrary, that at night your eyes are not used to the darkness? The variation of our visual acuity between if we are acclimatized to the ambient light and if we are suddenly exposed to a change of luminosity varies indeed from 1 to 1000.
It is also for this last reason that at night the cabin light intensity is lowered during the takeoff and landing phases (and not to give more power to the engines).
The passenger also plays a role in the safety of a flight
Occasionally, this also allows passengers seated at the windows to report an incident to the flight crew before they notice it themselves. A jet engine that catches fire a wing tip that is detaching for example. Fans of AirCrash or Mayday won’t need to be convinced.
Is it mandatory to close the window blinds during take-off and landing?
I was impressed by the number of discussions on the subject on specialized forums. It seems that some passengers feel that their most basic rights have been violated when they are asked to open a window blind (and I’m not even talking about their closure in flight, which is another subject). It is as if the passenger sitting on the window side was the owner of the window!
So I looked for the answer to the real question behind it all. And it is twofold: should the airline impose the opening of the window covers and, then, should the passenger comply?
The answer to the first question is obvious: when you see how fastidious the various air safety agencies are, they naturally force the airlines to take this type of precaution.
Well, no! No regulation imposes to the airlines to open the window blinds!
If you look at the FAA’s Cabin Safety Index you will not see the word “window” once in its 135 pages.
Maybe on the European side? Not much better on the EASA side where the only mention to a window is to be found in a 2017 decision (or rather in its annex). It states that before take-off and landing, passengers must be informed of the safety aspects of the cabin: position of shelves, armrests, footrests, window blinds etc. But without giving instructions on these positions.
The only case of mandatory window blinds opening is “in case of emergency”.
Therefore, the decision to impose the opening of the covers depends only on the will of the airline. They have indeed all the latitude to impose standards more severe than what the regulation provides. Take the example of electronic cigarettes: their use is not allowed while that of cigarettes is prohibited! Do you understand the nuance? A ban comes from the air safety regulations, the “non authorization” comes from the airlines that have no desire to manage conflicts between vapers and non vapers.
The opening of the hub caps is the norm or almost the norm in Europe and Asia and it is done in a very random way in the USA where the feedbacks show rather that the airlines do not impose anything. In the USA, there is the case of aircraft without a window on the front doors where the crew is seated (like the CRJ) where the window of seat 1A is required to be opened for inspection.
Considering the number of discussions on the forums where North American passengers complain about being forced to close their seat covers during takeoff and landing we see that the cultural difference is hidden in the details. With a special mention for the Chinese airlines which look the most brutal on the form.
So what are we risking if we refuse to close the window blinds?
Well absolutely nothing since it is not a legal obligation!
Well yes, you are at risk for two reasons.
First, if the airline has written this into an operational procedure required by the FAA or EASA, then it has the same force as if it came from the authority in question.
Then and simply because on board, and this is provided for in the regulations, we must comply with the instructions of the crew. The crew must respect the operational procedures of the airline and make them respected by the passengers. The word of the crew is the law, no matter what the subject is, we obey. Period.
I have not heard of any case of escalation following a case of window blinds, but one can imagine that the arsenal is the same as for a person who is violent, drunk, or posing an obvious threat to the safety of the flight. The person may be disembarked or handed over to the authorities.
And without going that far, the passenger may be labelled “unruly passenger” (PAXI in France)and the airline may even refuse him/her on future flights.
Here is to close a subject which seems to me to heat up the spirits whereas a little lucidity, good manners and even intelligence would be enough.
Photo : window blinds by Flystock via Shutterstock
