If every passenger exited the plane calmly, waited their turn, and did not rush the aisle upon arrival, it would take less time and require less patience to exit the airplane. In fact, politeness can often lead to faster exits from airplanes than rushing the aisle. In other words, the rushing of the aisle does not make passengers special; rather, it creates a mess.
Now, let’s take a moment to make sense of why flight attendants are pleading with passengers to stay calm and that missing your flight is not as bad as many may think.
After the seatbelt sign goes off, many people seem to jump up as if they are running to catch a movie. When they do this, they grab their bags and push their way down the aisles while blocking the aisles and pretending the order of the rows does not exist. Cabin crew members have given these passengers a “not so cute” nickname: aisle lice.
According to flight attendants, this kind of behavior does not help anyone and actually slows down passengers who think they are being efficient.
So what is an aisle lice anyway? In short, an aisle lice is a passenger that:
- Jumps up immediately after landing
- Rushes into the aisle
- Cuts in front of people who are trying to leave their rows
- Is causing all of the other passengers traveling the same way to wait longer and slowing them down by cutting in front of them while still believing they are being efficient.
A Flight Attendant’s Insight
A US flight attendant shared that the airport exit procedure has been designed for a reason. It works best when people leave their seats in order, starting with the front row and going all the way back towards the rear of the plane.
If all the people in a row get up to leave and head straight for the aisle, this creates a traffic jam in the aisle that blocks crew movement, which stops the orderly manner of leaving the plane. This can be quite frustrating to deal with, but it is also a huge waste of time.
4 Ways to Avoid Being That Person
- Only Stand Up If You Are Stretching
You are not breaking any laws when you stand up; it’s okay if you are stretching.
However, standing up does not mean you can just camp out in the aisle as if you have some sort of claim on it. Stay close to your seat, allowing others to get past you.
- Get Your Items Ready Before You Come to a Full Stop on The Plane
When you are digging through your backpack while waiting for your row to board, that’s creating the bottleneck you don’t want to create.
Be prepared. Have your backpack ready, with zippers closed and items tucked away. If you do this correctly, exiting will be a much smoother process.
- Wait for Your Row to be Moving Before you Get Your Overhead Bag
One of the worst things to do is to wait until you are at the front of the plane before you open the overhead bin.
That split second it takes You to reach for your bag stops everything behind you. You will get your bag when your row actually starts to move.
- Don’t Walk Barefoot In The Aisles
Barefoot can lead to slower speed, unsafe conditions, and, let’s face it, bad hygiene.
When there is a lot of congestion in the aisles, having shoes on enables you to safely navigate quickly through the crowd of people.
The Reasons To Have Shoes On Are Several
If you think rushing to the terminals is a time saver, it is actually stealing time from everyone.
The airline’s cabin crew is responsible for maintaining strict schedules, cleaning windows and managing the ground staff; however, the only thing most passengers want after a long flight is to get off of the plane with the least amount of stress. Therefore, the best way to achieve this is to remain patient while waiting for the aircraft to be deboarded.
At the time of landing, it feels like freedom to have gotten through the flight; however, once the doors open, that feeling transforms into awkwardness after all passengers have forgotten how to be courteous to one another. The flight attendants have witnessed it all; they have a clear message to send to the passengers exiting in an orderly manner can actually allow for quicker and safer deplaning for all involved.
There isn’t a “First To Stand Up” award to earn; however, there is certainly something you can earn, which is respect, for acting like a human being while deplaning the aircraft.
