To clap when the plane lands or not? A question that worries all passengers

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Applause can be wildly annoying not only for your neighbors, but also for the pilot.

People really care

The seemingly harmless habit of clapping after the plane has landed can lead to personal tragedy. Recently, a young man from Atlanta named Greg posted a cry from the heart on Twitter.

Picture this: You’re 31. You just married your soulmate and are on your way to your beautiful honeymoon. The plane lands in Bora Bora, as it touches the ground your wife begins clapping. She's an airplane clapper. You get on a plane right back to America and you never speak again.

This post caused a strong response from Twitter users. “I don’t know who is worse: those who applaud after landing, or those who do it in the cinema after watching a movie”, “You will never fully recognize a person until you see how he behaves on the plane,” they wrote people.

The question of whether or not to clap after landing is still controversial. On the Reddit forum, there is a community where users share their opinions on airplane applause and share their experiences. Here is some of them:

• “We were flying over mountains in Southern California and I thought we were going to die from crazy turbulence. Looks like we fell a couple of times and one lady practically hit the ceiling because she didn't buckle up. When the plane landed, everyone clapped, except me and her."
• “Yesterday my boyfriend and I went to a park near the airport. We looked at the runway. And every time the plane landed, he got up and greeted him!"
• “I flew in an airplane and experienced severe turbulence for 20 minutes before we landed. To my surprise, no one clapped. There was a collective exhalation of relief, though."

Why do passengers applaud

The reasons are different. Those who return home after a long absence often clap, including for a number of economic or political reasons. Also, people show joy from a successful landing in difficult weather conditions or in cases when there was some kind of technical malfunction on board.

It happens that passengers clap for no reason, even if the flight and landing were normal. Noted: Those who fly frequently do not usually applaud. But passengers who go on vacation a couple of times a year prefer to "thank" the pilots.

According to flight attendants, passengers are more likely to applaud on international flights. Much less often - after landing in European cities, where flights are cheap and residents fly very often.

By the way, landing is not a guarantee that all the dangers are behind. In 2005, in Toronto, during the landing of an Air France plane with several hundred passengers, there was a heavy thunderstorm and rain. The aircraft landed with difficulty and people started clapping. But they quickly realized that this was premature: the plane drove off the runway into a ravine and caught fire. No one was killed, but among the victims were the passengers who applauded.

How others treat applause

Pilots don't hear passengers clapping. The flight attendants can inform the pilots that the landing took place to applause. But this is not always perceived positively.

There are pilots who are pleased or indifferent to being clapped.

It doesn't really matter to me. Passengers are not experts in air travel and cannot determine how well the boarding was. But I will never give up the applause. It is always pleasant, even if sometimes undeserved.

Peter Wheeler pilot from Australia

But many pilots are offended by the applause. They consider themselves professionals of the highest category, and therefore landing is not something out of the ordinary, but an ordinary job, which they always try to do flawlessly. It is offensive for a pilot when passengers think that flying an airplane is a game of roulette.

The passengers themselves relate to the clapping tradition in different ways. Someone that this is correct and logical.

We applaud the musicians in concert, why not applaud for a good flight? I think this is a recognition of respect and gratitude.

Passenger

Others believe that the lack of applause is a sign of the mentality of the inhabitants of certain countries.

In America, you can walk down the street, and a random aunt will suddenly say that you have cool shoes. You can easily be patted by passers-by when you effectively throw your suitcase into the trunk. You are constantly being told that you are a good fellow ("Good job"). The Russians, on the other hand, are convinced that the praise MUST BE DESERVED. But not only do they not praise themselves, they try to forbid others! This is terrible. Praise people, or at least don't disturb others.

Passenger

Still others are annoyed by the habit of applauding on airplanes.

Show me at least one pilot who doesn't cringe from clapping his hands. You don't clap when you get out of a taxi, because you didn't crash during the trip.

Passenger

So is it worth clapping on planes or not

There is no single correct answer to this question: everyone makes a decision for himself. If you are overwhelmed with emotions and you can't help it, clap. But remember that not all pilots enjoy this. If someone starts to applaud after landing, you have a choice: join or ignore.

Perhaps the best way to express your gratitude to the crew would be a couple of warm words written in the guest book or on the airline's website.