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A FLIGHT attendant has revealed the five big mistakes that passengers often make when boarding a plane.

Christina Ling shares the advice she has learnt through years of working for airlines .

Christina Ling explained why you should inform a flight attendant if you lose your phone
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Christina Ling explained why you should inform a flight attendant if you lose your phoneCredit: Tiktok/flightattinstructor

In a recent video, she explained the safety errors she sees passengers making all the time, and how we can avoid them next time we fly.

Wearing seatbelts wrong

Plane seatbelts can be uncomfortable, which leads to many of us wearing them incorrectly.

Christina advises: "Always wear them as low as possible on your torso, and as tight as possible. That is going to give you the best protection.

"Don't wear it over your tummy because that's where some of your organs are and various soft spots, so always as low as possible."

She also insists that passengers shouldn't be embarrassed about asking for a seatbelt extender if they need them, adding: "Your cabin crew are wonderful, they're going to help you - your safety is number one."

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Not protecting personal belongings

Passengers assume that because they're on a plane, thousands of feet in the air, other people won't nick their stuff - but that's not the case.

Christina explains that things regularly get stolen on flights and that it's important to keep your things safe as much as you can.

She said: "If you need to get up to go to the lavatory, or leave your seat for any reason, don't leave your passport, your documents and your money or wallet or devices or anything like that.

"You'd be surprised - things go missing and it's not a way to start your trip."

Not asking for help when losing your phone

If your phone drops down the back of the seat, it may not seem like a big deal, but some airlines are now including warnings about phones as part of their safety demonstrations.

They can be a fire risk and a lost phone is cause to call a cabin crew member over, just so they know about the risk.

Christina said: "There's a risk of fire with things getting bedded into the seat, so if you lose your cell phone, please don't try to retrieve it yourself."

Vaping or smoking in the toilets

Passengers who feel the need to smoke can sometimes be tempted to nip into the lavatory, where they feel they can get away with it.

However, Christina explains that the smoke detectors in the plane toilets are extremely sensitive and will go off if you light up.

She said: "You're going to have a cabin crew member knocking on that door pretty quickly.

"It's also an offence and you risk your flight being met at your destination by authorities."

Getting out of your seat before the plane has stopped

As soon as a plane has landed, passengers might think they can stand up and start getting ready to get off.

However, it is not always safe to do so.

Christina said: "We're still taxiing, we're still in a safety situation.

"Remain seated with your seatbelt fastened. Don't get up until the aircraft has come to a complete stop and the pilot has turned off the fasten seatbelt sign."

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Passengers were warned about vaping, losing their belongings and standing up before the plane has finished moving
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Passengers were warned about vaping, losing their belongings and standing up before the plane has finished movingCredit: Alamy
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