Flight attendants reveal meaning behind their secret ‘Coke or stroke’ rule when flying

A flight attendant has opened up about their secret ‘Coke or stroke’ code which will always go unnoticed amongst passengers.

Often we think travelling the world for a living must be a cool job, but it's important to remember that it's still a job, with a lot to remember and a load of - if not more - responsibilities.

Airline staff have to make sure everyone on board is getting through the journey safely and comfortably.

They also have to deal with rowdy passengers who can make things very awkward.

But so much goes in to what they do, for instance, when you're about to step onto the plane, there is a reason why the stewardess is there to greet you, says flight attendant Kat Kamalani.

Taking to TikTok, she explained: "Have you ever walked on a plane and saw the flight attendants standing right here greeting you? Or the flight attendants walking up and down the aisle?

"Well I'm about to tell you what we're really doing.

"So, when you're walking on the airplane and you see our happy, smiling face - we're actually looking you up and down and we are trying to find our ABPs.

"And what that is called is our able body people or person - so, these are people who are going to help us in an emergency.

"For example, military personnel, firefighters, nurses, doctors.

"So, in case of an emergency, like a medical emergency or we are going to land the plane or there's a security breach, we know who is on our plane and who can help us.

"But, we're also looking for one more thing - beside from looking for things that don't belong on the plane, like a boxful of liquids - we're looking for human trafficking.

"It happens a lot in the industry and our passengers' safety is our number one priority."

And, of course, it doesn’t stop there - once the ABPs have been identified and holidaymakers are in their seats, the call bells start to ring, meaning the passenger needs the attention of a flight attendant. At this point, the member of staff has no idea what it is they’re about to be expected to deal with, so they live by one simple motto.

Writing for the Sun, one flight attendant explained: “Our motto for the call bell is ‘Coke or stroke’ - as in it could be someone wanting a drink, or it could be a medical emergency.

“We never know what it's going to be, so we have to respond as quickly as possible.”

Fortunately, the flight attendant goes on to explain that it's rarely an emergency.

“Most of the time, before the plane has even started moving, it's people complaining or asking us to move them to a better seat,” they wrote.