Cabin crew reveal the pilot knows this about passengers - even if they never see you

CABIN CREW work face-to-face with the public onboard flights, offering service and looking after passenger safety. Passengers rarely catch a glimpse of the pilot, yet it turns out they know more about you than you may think.

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Flight attendants are one of the most recognisable features of a flight, on hand to offer service with a smile and look after the wellbeing of every passenger onboard. Meanwhile, pilots are often hidden away in the flight deck, manning the flight’s operations and getting everyone from A to B safely and efficiently.

Though you may only catch a glimpse of the pilot at the beginning and the end of the flight, it turns out they know a lot more about every passenger onboard, even if they never see you.

This is largely thanks to the crew, as one anonymous flight attendant revealed in a Reddit forum.

They explained: “I don’t think a lot of people realise how much we keep the flight deck in the loop on everything that’s going on.”

This is particularly true in instances where passengers begin to behave badly.


Pilot and crew with passenger

Cabin crew secrets: Flight attendants keep pilots up-to-date on passenger behaviour (Image: Getty Images)

flight crew offload passengers

Flights: The flight crew make the final decision on offloading passengers (Image: Getty Images)

“If you drink too much and we cut you off when you ask for your fourth double vodka tonic in an hour, don’t try and pull the wool over our eyes and ask someone else,” they continue.

“We know about you, the onboard manager will know about you and the Captain will know about you.

“As soon as I cut someone off, I let the crew working with me know that I’ve stopped giving 28B alcohol.

“When the manager calls us (every half an hour at my airline) we let them know that 28B has been cut off, and in turn they’ll let the Captain know.”

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Even when bad behaviour is not involved, pilots have a lot of information about who is onboard in order to ensure the safety of everyone.

This includes a full list of the number and names of passengers and crew onboard.

Prior to take-off they are then updated with an up-to-date weather report and passenger count ahead of departure.

Although the pilots aren’t the ones dealing with the passengers head-on, it is often up to them to make the final decision on whether a member of the public is removed from a flight.

Pilots in cockpit

Flights: The pilots have a full list of who is onboard before they take off (Image: Getty Images)

As this can result in a diversion in a worst-case-scenario or the headache of restraining a dangerous or disruptive passenger for the crew, it is a decision they do not take lightly.

Petter Hornfeldt, a training captain and owner of the YouTube channel MenTour Pilot, has revealed the protocol a pilot must follow when alerted to a disruptive passenger.

Mr Hornfeldt explained: “Disruptive passengers are divided into many different categories. Most of the time when we’re talking about really disruptive passengers, it is people who have psychological problems or who are under the influence of some type of drug or alcohol.”

He added: “Those tend to be the most common types of disruptive passengers.”

Cabin crew are highly trained to deal with disruptive passengers and have a series of steps they will follow to try and calm a passenger down.

However, they also work in unison with the flight deck to ensure all staff onboard are aware of any potentially dangerous situations unfolding.

Firstly, the flight attendant will outline any onboard instructions to the passenger in a calm manner.

Mr Hornfeldt explained: “If the cabin crew sees someone who is doing this [smoking, drinking own alcohol or being aggressive], the cabin crew will nicely, in a calm manner, inform the passenger that they’re not allowed to do that.”

Baggage allowances for airlines

Baggage allowances for popular airlines (Image: DX)

If this does not work, they will then warn the passenger of the consequences that may come as the result of not following certain rules.

One of the most serious consequences is “offloading”, and the police may be called in this instance.

If neither of these steps pacify the disruptive party, the pilot will then contact the police.

If the plane is still on the ground and the cabin crew wishes to offload the passenger, the pilot will ask for the local police at whatever airport the plane is using, to escort the passenger off the flight.

Mr Hornfeldt explained he must then fill out a passenger offload form stating the reason for the offload.

This must be a tangible reason. Mr Hornfeldt continued: "It cannot be something like, ‘I didn't feel safe with this person’ or ‘I didn’t like the look of that person’, it has to be something that they have actually done.”

Passengers who cause a plane to be delayed or diverted as the result of police intervention can even face a fine covering some or all of the costs incurred.