Yes, but why do we have to lift the window curtains when the plane lands?

All right, the belts, the table in front of us, the back of the seat, but … what's the use of opening the darkening of the airplane window

Genoa – «We are preparing for take-off (or landing, ed), make sure you have the belt fastened, the seat in a vertical position, the table in front of you closed and the window curtain raised ": anyone who takes a plane hears this sentence at the beginning and at the end of the flight, and if you pay a minimum attention to it, a question if it does. For the belt fastened, the seat and the small table in the "rest" position are fine, since acceleration or deceleration can make bad jokes, but what does the window obscurer have to do with it?

The question is only apparently trivial, and obviously there is curiosity: a look at the trend of the online research, in Italy and in the world, with the terms "airplane windows" and "airplanes window" (both below), can only make you smile. As you can see, cyclically the question returns.

And since we are in a moment of "tired" (lower part of the curve) both in Italy and worldwide, we thought of give a little push to research.

google trends: research over time for "aerial windows"

google trends: searches over time for “airplanes window”

It is (above all) for our safety
Even if it is difficult to imagine it, it is a question of safety, exactly like for the belts, the table and the position of the seat: as explained by the airlines, the evacuation procedures of the aircraft in case of emergency must be completed within 90 seconds and for the crew to be able to see what happens outside, just through the windows, it can make the difference to decide quickly how to proceed.

Similarly, in the event of an accident, outside rescuers can see better what is happening inside: if there is smoke, if passengers are standing, if oxygen masks have come out and at what point of the plane all this is happening.

Again: during inspections before take-off and after landing, it is through the windows that flight attendants can quickly check the wings, to notice something wrong, maybe the presence of ice; the same can also be done by passengers, reporting any "oddities" to the staff.

Finally, psychology is confort: for those who travel, being able to see what happens outside, where they are landing, as the weather conditions are, can have a relaxing and soothing effect; moreover, having the curtain raised at the end of a night flight allows the eyes to become less traumatic in the passage from the light of the plane to the darkness of the outside. Remember, the next time you fly …