We’ll concede that one of the most difficult times to remain patient during air travel is in that seemingly interminable stretch between when the plane lands and when you can get up from your seat.
Something about being so close to the end of the flight really makes those final minutes drag, especially if you have a connection to catch.
So we can understand the impulse many flyers have—an impulse many of them follow—to bolt into the aisle immediately after touchdown and start gathering their belongings and heading for the exit, even though the plane is still taxiing toward the gate, the seatbelt light is still on, and the aircraft’s door is still closed.
At the end of some flights, in fact, it feels like half the plane has clogged the aisle before you’ve even finished rolling your eyes at the people who applaud the pilot for a successful landing.
In a recent Instagram video shot in a plane cabin, user @nomadspritz, who remains seated in the clip, pans from his own agog expression to a line of other passengers retrieving bags from an overhead compartment and heading down the aisle en masse. The camera then swings to the view from one of the jet’s windows, showing that the aircraft is still moving down the runway and everyone on board should definitely be seated.
As the Instagrammer points out in the post’s caption, “Standing up while the plane is still moving is incredibly dangerous. If the aircraft brakes suddenly or swerves, you can be seriously injured.”
In addition to violating safety regulations about standing up when the seatbelt light is illuminated, premature disembarkers display a lack of courtesy for other passengers and a lack of common sense.
After all, you’re ultimately not going to save all that much time getting off the plane since, well, you can’t get off the plane till it arrives at the gate and somebody opens the door.
Where You Can Be Fined for Standing Up on a Plane Too Early
Officials in one country have had enough.
As part of a crackdown on overhasty unbucklers, the civil aviation authority in Turkey warns that travelers caught prematurely unfastening seat belts, opening overhead bins, standing up, or moving into aisles now face fines.
“According to the regulation, airlines are obliged to remind passengers to fasten their seat belts during and after landing until they reach the parking position and to explicitly point out that any infringement will be reported to the aviation authority and a fine will be imposed,” per a report from Germany’s DPA news agency.
The aviation authority’s notice doesn’t mention how much the fine will be, but the Washington Post reports that a Turkish broadcaster advised travelers to expect something in the neighborhood of 2,603 Turkish lira, equivalent to about $70.
As the Post also explains, Federal Aviation Administration regulations require U.S. cabin crews to “alert the pilot if a passenger stands up while the plane is still moving toward a gate”—a process that can actually delay deplaning.
So in other words, your rude and fruitless rush to hurry things along could have the opposite effect.
Do us all a favor and sit down.
