5 ms·

It's a safety concern that at least 50 passengers didn't have their seat-belts on!

mikeash 10y ago
And this is why they tell you to always keep your seat belt fastened when seated, even when the seat belt light is turned off. You never know when a sudden maneuver or severe turbulence might hit.
closeparen 10y ago
Is it me or has seat-belt-sign discipline gone out the window? Over my December travels, dozens of passengers on all 4 segments I flew openly flaunted the seat-belt sign, getting up to go to the bathroom and standing in the aisle waiting for it in full view of flight attendants, who didn't say anything. I broke down and did so myself, as the seat belt sign was on for the vast majority of the flight and I was getting desperate. In the years prior, I've been sternly commanded to get fuck back to my seat when queueing for the bathroom, even with the seat belt sign off. Never observed anyone out and about while it was on. Maybe the only care in the front of the plane, since you might be preparing to rush the flight deck or something? Any frequent fliers notice this change?
- nathancahill 10y ago
  I've noticed that too. I used to do that myself, until I hit some of the worst turbulence of my life flying in to Denver a couple years ago. Whacked my head pretty hard on main cabin ceiling (the plane dropped ~20ft without warning and I didn't). Ever since then I've worn my seat belt for as much of the flight as possible.
  - hollander 10y ago
    During flight, you can set the belt a bit looser. For cases like this it's more important to keep you in your seat, than to keep you there as tight as possible, which is more important in case of a crash.
  - swasheck 10y ago
    "flying in to Denver ..." I live in Denver and I consistently dread flying home because of the horrid turbulence we experience.
- hackuser 10y ago
  I've never noticed it to be otherwise, except during take-off and landing or during severe turbulence. The other exception was the front of the plane for long while after 9/11; maybe that's what you remember.
- mseebach 10y ago
  This is something I've heard and don't recall where, so grain of salt and YMMV, but there are supposedly two modes of seat-belt-sign on: "advisory" and "hard". The latter is for take-off and landing, and very bad weather, the former is "there may be some turbulence, so take care when walking around (and stay seated if you're in doubt)". You can tell the difference by whether the flight attendants are seated.
  - hueving 10y ago
    Well the pilots usually only turn on the seatbelt sign for the higher turbulence times. Maybe they got overzealous to the point where people assume it's being overprotective and meaningless.
  - refurb 10y ago
    I've been on two flights where the pilot announced that he's leaving the seat belt sign on, but if you choose to get up to use the restroom, you're doing it at your own risk. I don't think he had much of an option since the seat belt sign was on pretty much the whole flight which was 4 hours long.
- CaptainZapp 10y ago
  Not really. My observations go for intra-European flights, though. You're usually also not yelled at when queuing for the loo, provided the seat-belt sign is off. What I do notice a lot, though, is passengers that unbuckle half a second after touch down. To me this seems incredibly stupid. For starters: it's really dangerous to them and by extension to their fellow passengers and to emphasize the idiocy: They're off the plane exatly zero seconds earlier than when they just stay buckled up until the plane arrives at the gate. Personally, I just stay buckled up, while sitting. The inconvenience is minor. Especially compared to the inconvenience when your head crashes through the overhead bin, due to sudden turbulences.
  - Declanomous 10y ago
    I think it's the same mindset of people who wear a seatbelt with the shoulder restraint tucked behind them: "It's uncomfortable! And besides, it only affects me!" That's great, except that your tubby ass will become a missile if anything happens to this vehicle. Also, planes have a habit of randomly jumping around with no warning because of invisible turbulence.
- alistairSH 10y ago
  I haven't noticed any changes. Seat-belt discipline has always been low, IMO. Lots of people failing to buckle-up when the light goes on, or unbuckling the second the plane touches down. I always leave my belt on when seated. No good reason not to do so. I'll tighten it for take-off and landing, and loosen a bit in-flight. As for stewards commanding passengers back to their seats, as noted above, it seems to depend on the level of expected turbulence. If it's minor bumps, and the stewards are still serving coffee, they rarely seem to object if the odd passenger goes to the toilet. But, if the stewards are told to buckle-up, they appear to take a more active role in keeping passengers seated. And all that said, a pilot's proclivity to turning on the seat-belt light seems to vary widely. I was on a United trans-Atlantic flight in 2016 where the light was on for any mild bumps. Then, in January, on an Icelandair flight, the lights never came on, despite a few moderate bumps.
- Angostura 10y ago
  Just to point out - I think you meant 'flouted' not flaunted
- CWuestefeld 10y ago
  My experience in the past year is attendants being much more strict on the "no standing in line for the bathroom" thing. Honestly, I don't understand how this is supposed to work. If we can't get in line, then we have to watch carefully, and as soon as someone leaves the bathroom, jump up and run down the aisle to it. But everyone else who wants to go is doing the same, which means that the person whose seat is closest to the bathroom wins, and everyone else needs to got back to their seats. So people farther away don't get to go, while those sitting near them also grow increasingly frustrated.
cpcallen 10y ago
Presumably (given the height lost in the inadvertent dive, and the fact that only one of pilots was returning from the toilet at the time of the incident) this was not during takeoff or landing.

And this is why they tell you to always keep your seat belt fastened when seated, even when the seat belt light is turned off. You never know when a sudden maneuver or severe turbulence might hit.

closeparen 10y ago

Is it me or has seat-belt-sign discipline gone out the window? Over my December travels, dozens of passengers on all 4 segments I flew openly flaunted the seat-belt sign, getting up to go to the bathroom and standing in the aisle waiting for it in full view of flight attendants, who didn't say anything. I broke down and did so myself, as the seat belt sign was on for the vast majority of the flight and I was getting desperate. In the years prior, I've been sternly commanded to get fuck back to my seat when queueing for the bathroom, even with the seat belt sign off. Never observed anyone out and about while it was on. Maybe the only care in the front of the plane, since you might be preparing to rush the flight deck or something? Any frequent fliers notice this change?

nathancahill 10y ago
I've noticed that too. I used to do that myself, until I hit some of the worst turbulence of my life flying in to Denver a couple years ago. Whacked my head pretty hard on main cabin ceiling (the plane dropped ~20ft without warning and I didn't). Ever since then I've worn my seat belt for as much of the flight as possible.
- hollander 10y ago
  During flight, you can set the belt a bit looser. For cases like this it's more important to keep you in your seat, than to keep you there as tight as possible, which is more important in case of a crash.
- swasheck 10y ago
  "flying in to Denver ..." I live in Denver and I consistently dread flying home because of the horrid turbulence we experience.
hackuser 10y ago
I've never noticed it to be otherwise, except during take-off and landing or during severe turbulence. The other exception was the front of the plane for long while after 9/11; maybe that's what you remember.
mseebach 10y ago
This is something I've heard and don't recall where, so grain of salt and YMMV, but there are supposedly two modes of seat-belt-sign on: "advisory" and "hard". The latter is for take-off and landing, and very bad weather, the former is "there may be some turbulence, so take care when walking around (and stay seated if you're in doubt)". You can tell the difference by whether the flight attendants are seated.
- hueving 10y ago
  Well the pilots usually only turn on the seatbelt sign for the higher turbulence times. Maybe they got overzealous to the point where people assume it's being overprotective and meaningless.
- refurb 10y ago
  I've been on two flights where the pilot announced that he's leaving the seat belt sign on, but if you choose to get up to use the restroom, you're doing it at your own risk. I don't think he had much of an option since the seat belt sign was on pretty much the whole flight which was 4 hours long.
CaptainZapp 10y ago
Not really. My observations go for intra-European flights, though. You're usually also not yelled at when queuing for the loo, provided the seat-belt sign is off. What I do notice a lot, though, is passengers that unbuckle half a second after touch down. To me this seems incredibly stupid. For starters: it's really dangerous to them and by extension to their fellow passengers and to emphasize the idiocy: They're off the plane exatly zero seconds earlier than when they just stay buckled up until the plane arrives at the gate. Personally, I just stay buckled up, while sitting. The inconvenience is minor. Especially compared to the inconvenience when your head crashes through the overhead bin, due to sudden turbulences.
- Declanomous 10y ago
  I think it's the same mindset of people who wear a seatbelt with the shoulder restraint tucked behind them: "It's uncomfortable! And besides, it only affects me!" That's great, except that your tubby ass will become a missile if anything happens to this vehicle. Also, planes have a habit of randomly jumping around with no warning because of invisible turbulence.
alistairSH 10y ago
I haven't noticed any changes. Seat-belt discipline has always been low, IMO. Lots of people failing to buckle-up when the light goes on, or unbuckling the second the plane touches down. I always leave my belt on when seated. No good reason not to do so. I'll tighten it for take-off and landing, and loosen a bit in-flight. As for stewards commanding passengers back to their seats, as noted above, it seems to depend on the level of expected turbulence. If it's minor bumps, and the stewards are still serving coffee, they rarely seem to object if the odd passenger goes to the toilet. But, if the stewards are told to buckle-up, they appear to take a more active role in keeping passengers seated. And all that said, a pilot's proclivity to turning on the seat-belt light seems to vary widely. I was on a United trans-Atlantic flight in 2016 where the light was on for any mild bumps. Then, in January, on an Icelandair flight, the lights never came on, despite a few moderate bumps.
Angostura 10y ago
Just to point out - I think you meant 'flouted' not flaunted
CWuestefeld 10y ago
My experience in the past year is attendants being much more strict on the "no standing in line for the bathroom" thing. Honestly, I don't understand how this is supposed to work. If we can't get in line, then we have to watch carefully, and as soon as someone leaves the bathroom, jump up and run down the aisle to it. But everyone else who wants to go is doing the same, which means that the person whose seat is closest to the bathroom wins, and everyone else needs to got back to their seats. So people farther away don't get to go, while those sitting near them also grow increasingly frustrated.

cpcallen 10y ago

Presumably (given the height lost in the inadvertent dive, and the fact that only one of pilots was returning from the toilet at the time of the incident) this was not during takeoff or landing.