• Home
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • LAD Originals

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Not now
OK
Advert
Advert
Advert

Real reason why cabin crews dim lights during a plane's takeoff and landing

Jess Battison

Published 
| Last updated 

Real reason why cabin crews dim lights during a plane's takeoff and landing

It’s late in the evening, our neck pillow is in place, our seat belt is fastened, and the lights have been dimmed; it’s time for the plane to take off and fly us to better weather.

That’s what happens if I close my eyes in this stormy British weather right now anyway.

Loading…

And it’s a familiar scene for anyone who has ever been on a flight.

Advert

But why do the aircraft lights actually get dimmed at take off?

And come to think of it, at landing too?

We all accept it as part of the routine of getting the plane ready and as some kind of safety procedure, yet most of us don’t actually know what the purpose is.

Maybe keep those eyes open until the planes coasting up in the skies. Credit: Jupiterimages/Getty Images
Maybe keep those eyes open until the planes coasting up in the skies. Credit: Jupiterimages/Getty Images
Advert

However, a senior pilot from a major U.S airline is on hand to solve this riddle for us by revealing why those lights get dimmed.

“You want your eyes acclimated,” Jon Lewis told Conde Nast Traveller.

“During night-time take offs and landings, you dim the lights so that you have some night vision going on.”

It’s not so necessary to dim them during daytime but it does help to conserve some engine power ahead of flying.

Advert

But aside from saving the plane’s power, dimming the lights is also linked to when the cabin crew go round making sure our window shades are up.

Ahead of taking off and landing, we’re asked to make sure those little blinds are fully open, and this is all to help with safety, just in case of an emergency.

The lights typically dim during evening and nighttime flights. Credit: Jaroslaw Kilian/Getty Images
The lights typically dim during evening and nighttime flights. Credit: Jaroslaw Kilian/Getty Images

The Telegraph reports that our eyes can take between ten and 30 minutes to fully adjust to a dark setting.

Advert

So, the cabin crew get those lights all romantically dimmed to help our eyes pre-adjust to lower light.

Basically, if it’s night time and we suddenly have to evacuate, it’s obviously going to be dark and the time it takes for our eyes to get used to the conditions is all too important.

Too long for us to adjust to the lower light will slow down a safe exit of the plane.

Plus, the dimmer light helps make the emergency lighting and illuminated pathways they point out in the little routines more visible.

Advert

It’s not just us passengers either, as Lewis says the pilots do the same thing in the cockpit.

And if there’s a lightning storm, he raises the lights in there to high.

He says: “That way, if you get a big lightning flash, you aren’t flash-blinded. What you are trying to do is utilize the outside cues.”

So maybe keep your eyes open until the plane is up cruising the skies next time you board.

Featured Image Credit: Pexels/Vitaliy Todo/Alireza Akhlaghi

Topics: Travel

Jess Battison
More like this
Advert
Advert
Advert

Chosen for YouChosen for You

Entertainment

New Netflix film has fans divided despite famous cast

4 minutes ago

Most Read StoriesMost Read

Former world’s strongest man Eddie Hall heartbreakingly announces he's lost his unborn child

an hour ago