Why you have to put your seat up during landing…. and other rules of the air explained

FLIGHT attendants have a hard job - on top of the difficulty of looking after 200-plus people in a poky little cabin, they also have to smile through the rage as grumpy passengers ignore the basic rules of flying.

Who hasn’t witnessed a member of cabin crew having to ask a customer to put their tray table up or put their seat upright several minutes after the official announcement?

But there IS method to the the crew’s madness they prepare your flight for take-off and landing.

Here, the flight attendant and aviation columnist at , Amanda Pleva reveals the thinking behind some of the rules and regulations…

Seat backs in the upright and locked position

People love to roll their eyes when we have to ask them to bring their seat backs fully upright.

That small amount of recline isn’t really going to make any difference in an emergency, is it?
But it matters more than you might think.

Start off by thinking of the person behind you - try standing up straight when the seat in front of you is leaned back.

In an emergency, when seconds count, reclined seats can cost you time trying to evacuate your row.

Also, those handy brace positions you absolutely, 100 per cent studied in your seat back card prior to departure? They become a lot less effective with the seat ahead of you reclined.

It is also thought that thought that the force of an impact or immediate stop of an aircraft could cause more head and neck injuries if you’re flung forward from a supine position.

Refusing to grant or deny permission to get up when the seatbelt sign is on