The Important Safety Reason Why Flight Attendants Ask You to Open the Window Shade During Takeoff and Landing

There are two reasons I like to pull my shade down as soon as I settle into my window seat after boarding a plane. For starters, the cabin is usually warm—which is ironic given how chilly I’ll be at cruising altitude. Pulling the shade down helps keep the heat out. Second, I’m the kind of passenger who tries to fall asleep immediately. Unfortunately, neither of these two reasons will convince the cabin crew to let me keep my window shade down for takeoff or landing. 

You may have noticed flight attendants asking all passengers to lift their window shades for takeoff and landing—here’s why.  

Takeoff and landing are when most accidents happen.

While airplane crashes are extremely rare, your chance of being in a crash is greatest during takeoff and landing. “While cruising at altitude makes up the majority of time in the air, this phase of flight accounts for 10 percent of all fatal accidents,” noted Boeing in its 2024 Statistical Summary. “Conversely, the landing phase accounts for only one percent of flight time, but 37 percent of all fatal accidents. Most safety-related improvements over the past few decades have focused on the taxi, climb, approach, and landing phases.” 

There are several reasons why most incidents happen during these phases of flight. For starters, aircraft are closer to the ground at takeoff, landing, and approach, which gives pilots less time to react should something go awry. There are also more obstacles, including buildings and other aircraft, vehicles, and even animals on the runway. Plus, pilots have more to do at these times, so they can’t just be on autopilot. Weather also plays a factor. Aircraft like to cruise at altitudes above 30,000 feet and below 40,000 feet because this window is a sweet spot for being above the clouds, where storms and turbulence occur. 

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You need to be able to see and be seen.

“Window shades are kept up during takeoff and landing, the two most critical phases of flight, to ensure situational awareness for both passengers and crew,” Rock Saddy, a pilot and liaison for Cirrus Aviation Services, tells Travel + Leisure. “In the rare event of an emergency, having natural light helps your eyes adjust more quickly and allows flight attendants and emergency responders to visually assess conditions, such as fire, debris, or water, outside the aircraft before opening an exit.”

It may seem counterintuitive, but sometimes it’s safer to remain on the plane than it is to evacuate. If window shades were down, it would be nearly impossible to assess the situation outside—and similarly, first responders on the ground wouldn’t be able to see what was happening inside and determine how best to help. 

It’s also a courtesy to other passengers. 

Safety aside, there’s another reason why flight attendants ask passengers to lift their window shades prior to landing. “It also helps passengers with their eye acclimation prior to deplaning,” Adam Cohen, a captain at SkyWest Airlines, tells T+L. Even though the human eye adjusts faster to light than it does to darkness, it’s still not instant. That said, on flights that take off or land at night or early in the morning, crew dim the cabin lighting at takeoff and landing so passengers’ eyes are already adjusted to dark conditions. 

Flight attendants always have the final say. 

Some airplane-related questions have objective answers. For example, why do airplane windows have tiny holes? They have holes to help with pressurization and prevent condensation. But other questions have more subjective answers, like who gets to decide whether the window shade is up or down mid-flight? Does it belong to the entire row or just the person sitting in the window seat?

It actually belongs to neither. While most etiquette experts would say that the person sitting in the window seat paid for the right to control the shade, and it would be rude to reach across someone to adjust it, there is an exception: Passengers must always listen to flight attendants and cabin crew. If a flight attendant asks you, at any time, to open or close your window shade, it’s in your best interest to comply—or it could cost you. According to the Department of Transportation (DOT), “Failure to follow crew member instructions may violate FAA regulations by interfering with the crew member's ability to perform his or her duties on the aircraft. The FAA may impose civil penalties of up to $13,910 for such violations.”