Flight attendants reveal surprising clothing tips for air travel
12:54 PM EDT, June 13, 2024
When choosing an outfit for air travel, comfort should be prioritized. However, knowing a few additional rules will protect us from unpleasant situations. Flight attendants advise on what not to wear on board.
Kris Major, the chief cabin crew member at British Airways with 25 years of experience as a flight attendant, recently shared some tips with passengers.
Don't wear black socks on the plane
The most surprising rule concerns... socks. It turns out that we should leave black socks at home.
"On a night flight particularly, if you put your feet in the aisle and you’ve got dark socks on, we won’t see you, and we’ll trip over you, and it’s a bit of a nuisance for us," explains Kris Major in an interview with CNN Travel.
He admits this is inconvenient for the crew and passengers, who wake up unpleasantly from their sleep.
Shoes on the plane - take off or not?
The chief cabin crew member also discusses taking off shoes: "We do it ourselves. I think most people do it themselves. It’s the right thing to do if you’re going on a long-haul flight.One would hope that you’ve had the common decency to have a bath or a shower and put clean socks or stockings or tights on before you get on the aircraft. That’s the only issue, if your feet smell," he explains.
He adds that it is unacceptable to take off both shoes and socks. Traveling barefoot is not an option; not only do we expose other passengers to an unpleasant sight, but it can also pose a safety risk. We should be ready to leave the plane in emergencies, not looking for our socks.
For the same reason, you shouldn't fly in flip-flops or high heels - they are uncomfortable footwear for quickly exiting the plane.
