After more than a decade on board planes, you’ll find a lot of information about the operation and how it works during flight.
Plus, I also know the myths and realities of flying.
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This is the second of my weekly blogs from Sun Online Travel. I will separate fact and fiction, and show why some of what you think you know about airplanes is a bunch of garbage.
Fear of turbulence makes flight attendants nervous
Although your cabin crew might appear calm and collected when the plane shakes, we know inside that it can be very dangerous.
We have been trained to handle varying levels of turbulence. They range from mild to severe to extreme.
Turbulence is something that happens on planes. If you hit any air pockets, it will cause some shaking. But if you hit anything extreme, we know it can prove to be very dangerous.
These situations require us to quickly secure ourselves and store any items as safely as possible.
I’m familiar with people who have been hurt in the air, fallen off their limbs, or were flung from the cabin. It’s possible to experience it if you fly as often as we do.
If you are really afraid of turbulence, I would advise that you sit as close as possible to the front of your plane because it acts as a wave.
A slight bump in the front can become a much bigger problem when it reaches the rear.
Sometimes the passengers at either the front or back of the train won’t be aware at all, and sometimes they will.
You can be restrained by flight attendants – we are even trained to do so
I’ve heard it so many times that angry passengers claim we don’t have the authority or power to do anything for them.
While this may vary depending on what airline you fly, we are authorized to restrain passengers and most of our staff are well-trained and equipped to do so.
We cannot ask for help from passengers.
While we are allowed to accept help from others if they offer it, if a passenger kicks off and there is a large muscly physiquebuilder who isn’t doing anything for us, then we can’t ask them to.
Cable ties and straps are available on board. It’s up to the cabin commander to decide if we restrain anyone, but we won’t leave them as a danger to the rest.
After they have been strapped in, it is up to the captain whether the flight will continue to its destination or be diverted to safety.
No matter where we end up, the passengers won’t be free until we get there. We don’t want to let them out again. If they have to use the bathroom or any other facility, they will just have to keep it in or ruin their underwear.
You might think about this next time you fly.
Passengers are not allowed to open plane doors during flights.
I have heard of passengers trying to open the doors on flights while drunk, which is a physical impossibility.
The plane doors will close at around 60 to 80 knots due to the outside pressure. Until the plane is below that speed again, these doors will stay shut regardless of what force comes in from the inside.
Sometimes, however, the pressure can cause havoc to doors and even flight attendants.
Doors can sometimes slide or move like doors opening on certain planes.
Even if it happens, the pressure will still be strong enough that the door will stay shut.
It is unlikely that the passengers of planes will contract any disease from the cabin air.
People are now more concerned about flying after Covid-19. Rumours suggest that recycled air can increase your risk of contracting diseases.
If this were true there would be many more illnesses after flights.
It’s not uncommon for hundreds of people to travel on planes. However, there is a good chance that someone will have a virus or a bug. The air system onboard is not going to spread the disease any more than it does normally.
The cabin air system replaces the cabin air with outside air, so any bugs or germs will be removed mid-flight.
The air you inhale is therefore more likely to have no germs and be clean.
Toilet waste doesn’t get dropped by planes in mid-air
It’s a common belief among passengers, but it’s not true.
There are tanks aboard the plane to store the sewage.
The plane’s waste is removed by a “honey truck”Then, it is sent on to the sewers.
It doesn’t matter if you spot a plane overhead – it’s not going to land you under an unpleasant shower.
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