DROP IT
I’m a flight attendant – there’s a big travel myth that you should ignore… I’m constantly asked about it
A FLIGHT attendant has revealed there’s a big travel myth that people need to ignore - and she’s always being asked about it.
Brodie Capron, who works for Virgin Atlantic, took to social media to answer some of the travel-related questions she gets asked the most.
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She took to her TikTok page to satisfy the public’s curiosity about her work and to respond to all those questions you wanted answered.
First up, she tackled the long-standing query over the safety of aircraft water, with many warning against drinking anything that doesn’t come out of a sealed bottle.
Brodie easily dealt with that one, saying it was completely safe to drink - at least on her flights.
She said in the footage: “It’s clean and filtered.”
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Another perennial question she tackled was why are the window shades always put in the up position during take-offs and landings.
These are the most dangerous parts of any flight and having the window shades up will get our eyes used to the outside light in case of an emergency.
If a passenger’s vision is at its best possible then they will be able to react quicker to potentially dangerous situations.
This is also why cabin lights are also dimmed at these times.
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Brodie also revealed a lesser known reason.
She said: “It's so that everyone can see the engines and warn the cabin crew if something is wrong.”
Another myth Brodie debunked was what happened to the waste from the toilets.
Many seem to think that it just gets jettisoned from the plane when it’s flying over seas but this simply isn’t true.
She said: “It does not just go into the sky. Bodily discharge goes into a sewage tank which gets emptied upon landing.”
Another question people asked was why do they need to put on an oxygen mask before helping anyone else.
Parent my want to ensure their children’s masks are on before their own but Brodie warned against this.
It could potentially have fatal results and prevent you from then helping anyone else who needs it.
Brodie said: “You need to put your mask on before you help others because you won’t be very useful if you don't have oxygen on yourself.”
Another person asked if the plane’s doors can be opened during a flight.
The flight attendant replied: “The doors cannot be opened mid-flight unless you have superhuman strength.”
To be able to open a typical passenger door, which is usually around six feet tall and 36 feet wide, at 36,000 feet in the air, you would need to overcome around 24,000 pounds of pressure.
Someone else asked why do carry-ons have a specific weight limit.
The overhead lockers where the bags are stored have a specific weight limit to prevent the cabin from rupturing.
Space inside the cabin is also limited which is why airlines impose size requirements for all carry-on luggage.
Finally, someone asked Brodie if people got drunk quicker on airplanes.
Many people enjoy a tipple or two while on a flight, particularly if its long haul.
But travellers often find their alcohol tolerance plummets when they are up in the air.
Brodie said: “Yes, you get drunk quicker on airplanes. This happens because the low oxygen percentage in the air causes the effects of alcohol to be greater.”
Many fans thanked her for taking the time to answer their queries.
One said: “This is actually so interesting.”
Another added: “She's definitely not wrong about the alcohol - I have one glass of wine and can't walk off the plane.”
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A third wrote: “I didn't know the one about the window shades, thank you for sharing.”
While a fourth chipped in with: “It blows my mind that some people think when you go to the toilet it just drops out of the sky - maybe this will answer their questions.”
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