There's A Reason Flight Attendants Are Required To Wear A Watch While Flying

Flight attendants notice many things about passengers as they board the plane, but from time to time, passengers notice things about flight attendants, too. For instance, as your flight attendant hands you a hot cup of coffee, you might notice that they're wearing a watch. While the jewelry may be a fashionable timepiece, the cabin attendant isn't just wearing it because it looks good — it's actually a mandatory part of their job that can be useful in case of emergencies.

While there are things flight attendants recommend not wearing on airplanes for safety, there aren't many rules about what passengers can and can't wear on a flight. When it comes to flight attendants, however, there are actual rules and regulations that they have to follow, and that includes wearing a watch on every flight. To find out more, Islands spoke to Barbi, a journalist and veteran flight attendant for a major U.S. airline. According to Barbi, watches can help flight attendants stay on schedule when it matters most: during a crisis. She explained: "In the event of an emergency, specifically a planned emergency, we need to synchronize our watches with the time the pilot has given us until impact. We need to know exactly how much time we have to secure the galleys, prepare the cabin, brief passengers, hand out infant life vests if necessary, and get to our jump seats to secure ourselves."

While most people probably use their smartphone to check the time, there are situations when a regular watch is better. For instance, you should always wear a watch on a cruise to stay on top of the ship's schedule. For flight attendants, though, watches are more than a convenience — they're absolutely mandatory. According to Barbi, forgetting to put a watch on before coming to work is a big deal. She told Islands, "If a supervisor sees you without your watch, it's grounds for removal from the flight, as well as disciplinary actions, if you do not have one. As for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the flight attendant would likely be fined, and again [there would be] disciplinary actions from the airline."

Barbi added that flight attendants are required to have a few things on them at all times besides a watch, including a flashlight, their passport, and an in-flight manual, and there can be serious consequences if they don't have these items. At the heart of these rules is safety, though the requirements may also be particularly strict because airlines can be severely punished if they're not compliant, the veteran flight attendant shared.

Though Barbi told us that every U.S. airline requires its flight attendants to wear some kind of watch, the rules for exactly which watches are allowed vary. While they all have to be functional and worn on the wrist, there can be additional airline-specific rules about the watch's style and material. "When I started flying in 1986, we could not wear a watch whose band was anything other than brown or black leather, gold or silver," Barbi revealed. "It couldn't be ornate or 'blingy,' nor could the face be larger than a silver dollar."

With that said, watches don't necessarily have to be the traditional analog type with hands going around the dial, and it wouldn't be unusual to see a flight attendant wearing a smartwatch. According to Barbi, smartwatches might even be a better choice than old-school timepieces, as long as flight attendants remember to keep them charged up. She explained, "They are easier to read in the dark, which can happen in airplane emergencies. Plus, they have timers, which can aid in tracking how much time you have left in a planned emergency." Next time you're traveling by plane, take a peek at the cabin crew's wrists and see what kind of watches you spot.