Flight attendant’s ‘five-minute rule’ before you even step on a plane
Updated . First published
Most people think a flight starts when you step onto the plane itself, but flight attendants say the real trick to things going smoothly actually happens well before you board.
In fact, most delays occur during boarding, but if travellers followed a simple “five-minute” rule, most of that could potentially be avoided.
It seems so simple, yet it can save everyone from unnecessary delays. Adobe Stock
We’ve all been there; stuck in a queue that is seemingly not moving while passengers scramble for their passports, or stand in the aisle unpacking their carry on before getting out of the way and taking their seat.
Just to name a few examples.
Now experts have said preparing for five minutes before you even step onto the plane is the easiest way to avoid an unnecessary bottleneck.
“If you know you’ll need headphones, a book or medication, take it out of your carry-on or personal item before boarding so everyone behind you can keep moving,” Saskia Jackson, a former flight attendant turned travel adviser and owner of World Travels with Saskia, told Yahoo Travel.
What you do at the gate matters for takeoff. AAP
Having your boarding pass ready to scan can also speed up the boarding process.
“A few seconds of hesitation multiplied by 300 people becomes a delayed departure,” Sophie Vancaeneghem, another former flight attendant for Air Belgium and Qatar Airways, told the publication.
Indeed, Sophie said these days many issues when flying come down to passengers and poor plane etiquette.
“The aircraft is not just a bus in the sky. It’s a temporary city,” she said.
“My best flights weren’t necessarily the flights that ran on schedule. They were the flights where people remembered how to be human.
“Air travel becomes significantly better when we stop seeing everyone else as obstacles and start seeing them as fellow travellers.”
