Window shades, seatbacks, cabin lights: why strict rules apply at takeoff and landing

“Please open your window shades, return your seatback to the upright position and stow your tray table.” You know the announcement by heart – but why exactly are window shades open at takeoff and landing, the seatback vertical and the lights dimmed? There is no harassment behind these rituals, but carefully thought-out safety logic. It revolves around one question: how does everyone get out of the aircraft in the shortest possible time in an emergency? For spotters with a window seat, this logic has a pleasant side effect – more on that later.

The short answer

All cabin rules around takeoff and landing share one goal: in an emergency, the cabin must be able to be cleared as quickly as possible. Open shades make sure that everyone inside and outside can see what is happening. Upright seatbacks, stowed tray tables and folded-up footrests keep the way out of the seat row clear. Dimmed light in darkness prepares your eyes for a possible power failure. And a fastened seat belt holds you in your seat during an abrupt deceleration.

Why takeoff and landing in particular? Because that is when the aircraft moves close to the ground, at high speed and with little room for maneuver. The pilots work through what has to be done in these minutes with full concentration, and there is little time for mistakes. European law has a term of its own for this.

Critical phases of flight: what the law means

The EU regulation on air operations (Regulation (EU) No. 965/2012) defines the critical phases of flight for airplanes: the takeoff run, the takeoff flight path, the final approach, the missed approach and the landing including roll-out. In addition come all other phases that the commander classifies as critical – for example in severe weather.

The US aviation authority FAA draws the line even wider in its operating rules for scheduled flights: there, all ground movements while taxiing, takeoff and landing as well as all flight segments below 10,000 feet except cruise count as critical phases. During this time, everything that could distract the crew is off limits in the cockpit – meals and private conversations included. Among pilots this is called the “sterile cockpit”.

In the cabin, the same applies by analogy: the flight attendants sit buckled in on their jump seats at the exits, service is suspended, trolleys are locked. Anyone who has ever read about the profession, for example in the guide Becoming a flight attendant, knows that safety is the actual core task there – the coffee comes after.

Window shades open: four good reasons

The open shade is the rule that is questioned most often. Yet it fulfills several tasks at once.

1. The crew sees which exit is safe

After an incident, the cabin crew must decide within seconds whether to open an emergency exit. If an engine is burning outside, smoke lies over one side or the escape slide is blocked by debris, that exit must not be used. Through open windows this is immediately recognizable, also for the passengers at the emergency exits over the wings.

2. Rescuers can see into the cabin

It works the other way round as well: the airport fire service can see from outside where people are sitting, whether smoke is spreading in the cabin and where help is needed most urgently.

3. Your eyes are used to the outside light

Anyone who has to go from a darkened cabin into glaring daylight during an evacuation is blinded for the first moment – exactly when orientation would matter most. With the shade open, the contrast is already familiar.

4. More eyes notice the unusual

Passengers at the window sometimes see something that is not visible from the cockpit: leaking fluid, sparks, smoke at the landing gear. A tip to the crew can be valuable. That does not mean you should press the call button at every contrail at the wing – but an alert look outside never hurts.

Seatback, tray table, footrest: the escape path out of the row

The tightest point in an evacuation is not the aisle but the path from your own seat into the aisle. Every centimeter counts.

• Seatback upright: A reclined seatback takes away the space behind it to stand up and climb out. The US operating rules for scheduled flights (14 CFR 121.311) expressly prohibit takeoff and landing unless passenger seatbacks are upright – with a few exceptions, for example when a passenger cannot sit upright for medical reasons and the seatback does not block anyone.
• Tray table folded up: A tray table that is folded out is an obstacle in front of the upper body during abrupt deceleration and blocks the way out of the row. FAA rule 121.577 stipulates that trays and seat tables are stowed before taxiing, takeoff and landing and that serviced dishes are collected.
• Trolleys and screens: The same rule requires that service carts are locked and that screens protruding into the aisle are retracted.
• Footrests and leg rests: In premium cabins the same logic applies – anything that obstructs the area in front of the seat has to go.
• Bag under the seat in front: Luggage in the footwell becomes a tripping hazard. That is why it belongs under the seat in front or in the overhead bin during the critical phase.

Why these seconds count

The FAA design regulations (14 CFR 25.803) require, for airplanes with more than 44 passenger seats, proof that all occupants – at maximum seating and with the prescribed crew – can leave the aircraft within 90 seconds under simulated emergency conditions. Normally this is done with a real evacuation drill. These 90 seconds assume that nobody trips over luggage, gets caught on a seatback or first has to fold up the tray table.

A well-known example of a successful evacuation under pressure is the ditching of US Airways on the Hudson in 2009, in which all occupants were able to leave the aircraft.

Dimmed cabin lights: training for the eyes

At takeoff and landing in darkness, the light in the cabin is turned down, sometimes almost completely off. The reason is the dark adaptation of the eye: if you go from bright light into darkness, at first you can hardly see anything, and getting used to it takes quite a while.

If the power supply fails in an incident or the aircraft has to be evacuated at night, passengers from a brightly lit cabin would be almost blind for the first moment. If your eyes are already used to low light, on the other hand, you immediately recognize the emergency lighting, the luminous markings on the floor that lead to the exits, and the surroundings outside.

During the day, dimming hardly matters. How much the lights are dimmed is determined by the crew according to their airline’s procedures.

The rules at a glance

Rule	What you do	Why
Window shade	leave open	Crew and rescuers see what is happening inside and outside; eyes stay used to the outside light
Seatback	set upright	Space for the person behind, clear path out of the row
Tray table	fold up and latch	no obstacle during abrupt deceleration and evacuation
Seat belt	snug and low across the pelvis	holds you in your seat during hard braking or turbulence
Carry-on luggage	under the seat in front or in the bin	no tripping hazard, no flying objects
Headphones and cables	cables not across the row	hear announcements, do not get caught
Cabin lights	dimmed in darkness	eyes get used to low light
Electronics	airplane mode per the airline’s announcement	avoid radio interference, do not miss announcements

Why airplane mode matters at all and what is allowed on board today is explained at length in the article Why airplane mode?.

Special case Boeing 787: windows without shades

The Boeing 787-9 and its sister models do not have classic plastic shades. Boeing describes the windows as the largest of all widebody aircraft currently flying and as electronically dimmable: passengers and crew can control the cabin light without losing the view outside completely. Because even the darkened panes do not shut off the view outside entirely and the crew can help control the dimming, the principle of “view to the outside” is preserved even without a shade.

How to reliably tell the 787 from its Airbus counterpart from the outside is covered in the guide A350 or Boeing 787?. The Airbus A350-900 also relies on large cabin windows, but works with conventional shades.

What the rules mean for spotters on board

For you as an aviation fan, the shade rule is a stroke of luck: exactly when the most is happening outside – taxiing past the apron, takeoff run, climb-out, final approach – the view outside is practically guaranteed to you. A few simple principles help make photos from this phase succeed and keep you from endangering anyone.

The rule of thumb: anything that could fly through the cabin during an abrupt braking maneuver should be packed away. You can hold on to a smartphone, but a kilo of glass on a telephoto zoom, not so much. You will find more on technique in Photographing from the airplane window, and on which side and row are worthwhile in the guide Choosing the best window seat for photos.

An appealing change of perspective: on the ground, you yourself stand at the fence, for instance at the Hamburg observation deck or the Munich visitors’ hill, and watch the window rows of taxiing jets go by. From the window, in turn, you then recognize the places where other spotters stand. What looks different on the ground between takeoffs and landings is described in the article Landings or takeoffs?.

Your routine before takeoff and landing

When the rules make you uneasy

Many passengers perceive the ritual before landing as a sign that something dangerous is about to happen. The opposite is the case: the rules are routine and apply on every flight – so that in the very rare emergency nothing has to be improvised. If you struggle with unease in the air, you will find helpful explanations in the guide Understanding and overcoming fear of flying. The physical effects around the approach also have harmless causes, such as the pressure on your ears, which the article Cabin pressure and ear pressure explains.

A hard touchdown, incidentally, is usually not a sign of a problem but often intended – why, you can read in Why some landings are hard. And if the aircraft suddenly climbs again shortly before touchdown, a standard maneuver is behind it: the go-around. Even then, shades stay open and belts stay fastened until the second approach is complete.

Conclusion

The announcements before takeoff and landing seem like an annoying compulsory routine, but follow simple logic: in the critical phases of flight, the cabin must be evacuable at any time. Open window shades give crew, passengers and rescuers visibility, upright seatbacks and stowed tray tables keep the escape path out of the row clear, and dimmed light prepares the eyes for darkness. For spotters, that is the best news of the whole flight – the most exciting minutes come with a guaranteed view.