Why, during take-off and landing, are people asked to raise the window blinds?

Opening the porthole shutter is part of a long process of preparing the aircraft cockpit for emergency situations. The crew has only 90 seconds to evacuate all passengers in the event of an accident. With minor adjustments for the size of the aircraft and the number of passengers, the evacuation process takes the same amount of time. Therefore, in order to meet these very 90 seconds, the team prepares the plane in advance. In addition, places located at the emergency exit are of particular importance - only adults can occupy them. They are advised to read the safety instructions so that they are ready to help the crew in case of emergency.

Window blinds are raised during landing and take-off, as these phases of flight are considered the most dangerous. As you know, the greatest number of disasters occurs just during take-off and landing, so passengers are asked to raise the curtains, bring the seats upright, fasten their seat belts, etc. In case something goes wrong, the team will have time to react quickly.

In addition, the following should be considered:

- Passengers are curious. And this is an additional 100-300 people who are watching the take-off / landing process and are ready to instantly report what seemed strange to them.
- In case of emergency, every second counts. With the curtains raised, the team can easily see the conditions overboard and make the most correct decisions regarding evacuation.
- In the event of an accident, people should be prepared. Therefore, the opening of the curtains during the day allows passengers to get used to this kind of lighting. In the event of an emergency evacuation, passengers will not have a spontaneous change in lighting conditions in the cabin, which in turn avoids temporary shock. The same applies to overnight flights: the curtains are open and the lighting in the cockpit is dim. This helps rescue services outside see what is happening inside.
The rules, of course, may vary depending on the airline, but in most cases the instructions require that the curtains be opened.