Why Flight Attendants Make You Open The Shades During Takeoff And Landing

One of the biggest perks to acquiring a window seat on an airplane is having control over the window shade. Ready to take in the view? Open it up. Is the setting sun blazing in your eyes? Close it again. The choice is yours, with one notable exception. Most airlines consider it best practice for their flight attendants to ensure that passengers comply with keeping the shades up for both takeoff and landing, for one very important reason — safety.

Safety is the primary reason behind almost everything flight attendants ask you to do during takeoff and landing, such as fastening your seatbelt, stowing your items, and ensuring your seatback is upright. These requests may seem trivial, but as someone who's worked as a flight attendant for nearly 10 years, I can confirm they are anything but. And our safety checklist doesn't end there, which is why it's not a good idea to talk to a flight attendant after they've taken their jump seat.

Every protocol enforced while we're preparing the cabin for either the beginning or end of a flight is designed to aid with efficiency in the event of an emergency evacuation. According to a report released by Airbus, a world leader in commercial aircraft manufacturing, "Most of the accidents over the last 20 years occurred during takeoff, approach, and landing phases." So what do window shades have to do with an evacuation? The simple answer is that before anyone can leave the plane, the crew, as well as anyone assisting with the evacuation, needs to know what conditions are present outside.

Preparing the cabin for takeoff and landing is one of the most crucial parts of my job as a flight attendant, and this has to do with the fact that these are what the aviation industry refers to as critical phases of flight. During these high-stakes moments, Airbus explains, "This combination of high workload and the increased potential for unanticipated events can create a complex interplay of contributing factors, which may lead to an accident."

While pilots are in the cockpit handling the most complex parts of their day, your flight attendants are doing their part in the cabin to ensure everything that poses a potential threat to egress (or the flow of people during an evacuation) is either minimized or eliminated. Bags in aisles or laps, tray tables that aren't properly stowed, and reclined seatbacks are a recipe for disaster when it comes to an evacuation, where the name of the game is to get out of the aircraft as quickly as possible.

Visibility is also important, which plays into the disturbing reason flight attendants dim plane lights during landing. After turning the cabin lights to bright for clean up, bringing them down again allows everyone's eyes to adjust to whatever natural light is occurring outside, especially if it's nighttime. This is why it's especially helpful to have those shades in the upright position for landing.

You may be surprised to learn that opening airplane window shades during takeoff and landing is actually not mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which means it's not officially regulated for domestically-based airlines. It is, however, considered best practice by flight attendants. No matter where I'm seated on a plane, I always ensure my window shades are open for these critical phases of flight because I want to be properly oriented to what's going on outside. 

Regardless of official rules, there is one place on the plane where this best practice is the most crucial — emergency exit rows. Passengers seated there are bestowed with extra responsibilities, which is why, of all the things flight attendants would like you to stop doing, not paying attention during the safety demonstration ranks at the top of my personal list.

Many airlines include keeping the window shades up during takeoff and landing as part of the official emergency exit row briefing, and for good reason. These passengers will be expected to open exits in the event of an emergency evacuation, with little to no crew supervision. Understanding how the door operates, as well as how to assess if the exit is a usable one, is crucial.

Although it only takes moments to open a shade, these precious moments help save time during a protocol that requires flight attendants to empty an entire plane in 90 seconds or less. Having it down increases the likelihood that an inexperienced passenger may forget to assess outside conditions before opening the door. All in all, regardless of the rules, it's always a good idea to have a view of the outside world during both takeoff and landing. During cruise, the choice is yours.