Cabin crew not only provide comfort for passengers, but also look after many security elements of a flight.
There are a number of elements to a plane that are there to enhance security and help the crew in the event of an emergency.
Although right there in plain sight, many passengers don’t notice them, or if they do, are not sure what they are for.
One such item are handles placed by the doors to the plane, and they are there for a very specific reason.
According to one flight expert, these are not for the benefit of passengers, but for the safety of flight attendants.
Speaking to Huffington Post, George Hobica said: “Next time you get on a plane, take note of the handles by the door, just inside the plane.
“What on earth are those for? Correct, they’re grab handles, but why?
“Well, in a panicked emergency evacuation, when the flight attendants are manning the exit door, passengers, in their mad rush to get off, have a tendency to push them out of the way, sometimes all the way down the slide.
“The handles are there to make sure that the flight attendants stay on the plane if that’s what they need to do.”
Not all of the secrets are related to security, with some revelations from airline insiders linked to freebies and extras.
Planes are often very cold, and airlines provide blankets so that passengers can stay warm and sleep, particularly on overnight flights.
Wrapped in plastic, the blankets are left on seats along with a small pillow at the start of flights.
But passengers may want to give these a miss on their next flight, as cabin crew revealed the disgusting truth behind them.
One Reddit user, ‘mehow44’, wrote: “I worked for Southwest as a flight attendant. “Those blankets and pillows? Yeah, those just get refolded and stuffed back in the bins between flights.
“Only fresh ones I ever saw were on an originating first flight in the morning in a provisioning city.”
An active flight attendant, Sara Keagle, confirmed this was true to Huffington Post.
