Attendant reveals real reason crew sit on hands during takeoff and landing

Sat on their hands? Why do cabin crew sit in such an uncomfortable position on their tiny jump seats.

If you’ve ever noticed a flight attendant sitting on their hands in their foldaway jump seat, it’s not for comfort.

A career cabin crew member for the Philippines-based Cebu Pacific took to TikTok in an attempt to shed light on the reason why attendants adopt such an unusual position during takeoff and landing.

“Ever wonder why cabin crew sits like this during takeoff and landing?” Henny Lim asked her thousands of followers.

Crew are instructed to adopt the seat positions which involve tightening the belt securely, sitting upright, sitting on hands and feet flat on the floor.

“The aim is to keep the body in a rigid pose” explains Lim, to keep it braced for any unexpected turbulence or a sudden emergency.

“During this time, [the crew] will also be going through the ‘silent review”, which prepares them for an emergency situation every take-off and landing.

“This includes being aware of emergency equipment in the location, door operation, commands given and any visual clues outside of the aircraft,” she narrates along to the short video clip.

According to a memo from the FAA, the American civil aviation agency, there are two main reasons for adopting a brace position.

“One is to reduce flailing and the other is to reduce secondary impact.”

However, for cabin crew, sat in folding seats in the bulkhead, they do not adopt the same brace position as passengers. A more subtle pose than bringing the head down between legs - as they instruct passengers to do - it’s also designed to keep crew ready, but not alarm their charges.

Lim has found fame posting behind-the-scenes secrets from her life in the skies, making short videos about everything from why airplane windows have holes what cabin crew have for breakfast.

Henny is far from the first flight attendant content creator to go viral by shedding light on what it’s like to work behind-the-scenes of air travel.

@_hennylim_

Why do cabin crew sit on their hands while in their jumpseats? Check this video out to know! Special guest for today’s video: Clare demecillo Follow my Official Facebook Page: “Henny Joyce Lim” Follow me on Instagram: _hennylim_ #fyp #HJL #cabincrewlife #bracingposition #cebupacific #groundstop

♬ Aesthetic - Tollan Kim

She’s hardly the only crew member to find viral fame. Last year a Philadelphia-born attendant Destanie created a sensation on TikTok, revealing the “wildest stunts” passengers have performed to try and get an upgrade.

Not everyone is thrilled about industry secrets being spilled and films being made in the cabin. Particularly when passengers get phones out to document what goes on in a passenger plane.

Cabin crew recently spoke out recently in a report by the Conversation, saying they were shocked to see themselves go viral in passengers’ social media posts and only learning second hand.

The phenomenon of smartphones on planes have made it difficult to stop.

“You don’t know why they’re filming or what they’ll do with it,” said one anonymous attendant who appeared in a video with an abusive passenger.

Increasingly airlines are asking passengers and crew to not film in cabins, to avoid repercussions of unexpectedly going viral.