Travel Expert Defends People Who Stand Up In The Aisle As Soon As A Plane Lands, Even When The Door Hasn’t Opened Yet
There's no reason to judge others so harshly.
There are two types of people in this world: people who immediately stand up when a plane lands and people who don’t. At least, those are the categories many regular travelers have divided society into.
Those who stand as soon as the plane lands are often mocked and laughed at for what some feel is confusing eagerness. One travel expert thinks that needs to stop.
A travel expert defended people who stand up as soon as a plane lands.
Gary Leff, a travel expert who has been featured in the New York Times and the Washington Post, runs the blog View From the Wing. Leff recently addressed the phenomenon of airline passengers who stand immediately upon the plane landing, regardless of whether or not the door is open.
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Leff referenced a Reddit post from the website’s “Mildly Infuriating” forum in which one traveler said, “My first leg of my journey was literally 40 minutes, wheels up to wheels down, and they still stood up like their lives [depended] on it.” Adding, “But do these idiots really think that standing in the aisle like a moron will allow them to get off the plane faster? If you’re a person who does this and doesn’t have leg pain, why do you do this?”
Leff stated that people who have this mindset are “100% wrong.”
“To be sure, you should be polite when you get up,” he said. “Don’t try to run past everyone else in the aisles or climb over other passengers. But also, don’t react this way to passengers trying to make progress when the plane comes to a complete stop and the seat belt sign is turned off.”
The travel expert argued that there are three main reasons why it makes perfect sense to stand when the plane lands, even when the door is not open.
First, he noted that it hastens the deplaning process. Those few minutes may not seem like a big deal, but they can have a domino effect.
“That means getting everyone off the aircraft a couple of minutes faster,” he said. “And that means more people make tight connections (which is polite to your fellow travelers). It also means allowing those couple of minutes for cleaners to get on board and clean the aircraft (polite to the cleaners, letting them do their job, and polite to the next passengers on the plane).”
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The second reason, Leff said, also has to do with politeness. “It’s polite to the middle-seat passenger who’s been stuck in place for hours when the person in the aisle seat gets up into the aisle,” he said.
Leff’s third reason just makes sense. “You’ve been stuck in an uncomfortable seat for hours; why not stand as soon as you can?” he asked. “Especially in an era of less-padded slimline seats, it’s time to give your back a rest.”
According to Leff, there’s really no reason not to stand up after the plane lands. It allows you to do something nice for others and for yourself, all while hurrying along the agonizingly long process of deplaning.
Standing up when the plane lands can also be good for your health.
Scotland’s National Health Service mentioned, “The cramped conditions and long period of being less active on a flight can cause pain, stiffness or swelling of your legs. Being less active can lead to slow blood flow in your veins, which increases your risk of developing a blood clot, known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT). DVTs most commonly form in the legs.”
Because a lack of movement can lead to concern for things like DVTs, getting up and moving around as soon as the plane lands is not only a nice touch for those around you but really benefits your own health as well.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.