Why Do Flight Attendants Greet Passengers at the Door?

If you are greeted with a smile when boarding an aircraft, the journey starts off reasonably well. The fact that the airlines place flight attendants in the aircraft door for the duration of boarding is not (only) to do with friendliness.

When boarding the plane, there is often a certain crowd. Because the other passengers also want to get in and take their seats as quickly as possible so that the journey can start on time. And as if it wasn’t cramped enough, there are also one or two flight attendants standing in the door of the aircraft. They do this, of course, to welcome the passengers – but not just for that reason.

Main reason: safety

Because it is always possible that something will happen or that a request for immediate evacuation will come from the cockpit. In this case, the crew must react quickly, avoid unrest and ensure that the passengers who have already boarded are disembarked in a coordinated manner.

Incidentally, members of the cabin crew must be present not only at the entrance, but also at the emergency exits. The posts may not be left until boarding is complete and the doors are rearranged, i.e. firmly locked. In some machines, “emergency exit pairs” must always be manned by flight attendants, i.e. both of the opposite emergency exits. In an emergency, these doors are also used for evacuation.

Row assignment of passengers

The post in the door serves another purpose: to put passengers in the right row if the plane has more than one. Some passengers are also happy – especially those who travel less often – to be able to ask the flight attendants questions as soon as they board. Finally, special requirements or needs that were not specified at the time of booking can also be submitted here afterwards.

Opportunity for an assessment of the passengers

At the entrance, flight attendants can also get a close look at boarding passengers and what they are carrying. For example, if someone wants to bring an oversized piece of hand luggage onto the plane that was not noticed at the gate, there is still the option of having it checked in. Likewise, the boarding of the passengers is an opportunity for the crew to track down undesirable behavioral tendencies. If a person appears to be heavily intoxicated, the flight attendants will discuss this and monitor them more closely from now on.

Do the passengers have to be counted?

Some people think that’s why the flight attendants stand in the door when boarding to count the incoming guests. That’s why her hands are mostly hidden behind her back. Because there they would hide a small tracker that they could use to record every passenger with a click. But according to Michelle P., the counting is “nonsense”. At least for the airline she works for, the booking numbers are given in a mobile device. “We only check if a seat in business class is occupied that should actually be free,” she explains.

Lufthansa is canceling almost all flights in Frankfurt and Munich tomorrow