Ever wondered what happens if you forget to put your window up during take-off or landing? One flight attendant explained the purpose behind the important safety precaution
Christine Younan Deputy Editor Social Newsdesk
10:08, 27 Dec 2025
There’s a reason you should have blinds up(Image: Getty Images)
Travelling on a plane comes with plenty of safety precautions, like going through security and putting your phone on airplane mode. While it can be nerve-wracking for people to remember these steps, there is a cabin crew to remind you along the way.
Now when you’re about to take-off, flight attendants usually have a checklist to tick off before the plane enters the runway. You must have your seats in a upright position, as well as armrests down. But one crucial part of safety is making sure your blinds are up during take-off and landing, so have you ever wondered what happens if you forget?
In a Reddit post, one person asked: “Why do you have to have the windows up for landing sometimes? This is something I’ve always wondered and I had no clue who to ask!”
Well the reason for having your windows up is quite simple – it’s in case of an emergency.
That’s because if you need to evacuate, you won’t be able to see if the engine is on fire, or there’s any hazard which means you can’t evacuate out of that side.
A flight attendant said: “In case something goes wrong a passenger can see it and alert the flight crew. It also has to do with safety. If you crash upon take-off inside a dark plane, the light could be blinding upon evacuating.”
Putting your window shades up during take-off and landing is for critical safety reasons as it also allows crew and passengers to see external hazards.
It’s also done for quick assessments to help your eyes adjust to light for a faster emergency exit and allows emergency services to see inside the cabin if needed.
Often flight attendants require your blinds to be up during take-off and landing. At night, shades stay open (with cabin lights dimmed) so emergency services outside can see in, meanwhile in the day, it’s so your eyes adjust.
What other safety precautions are there during take-off and landing?
Seatbelt: Passengers must make sure their seatbelt is fastened and even when the sign is off, it’s best to keep it buckled.
Seat position: Make sure your seat is in a full upright position
Tray table: Put it away securely
Electronics: All devices must be switched off or on airplane mode
Attention: Watch the safety video and demo
Exits: Revise your nearest exits in the case of an emergency
Shoes: Keep footwear on to protect your feet from debris
Window shades: Keep them open for visibility
Baggage: Make sure carry-ons are stowed away properly
Warner Bros. Discovery has sharply rejected Paramount’s latest offer, alleging the Larry Ellison family has failed to put real money behind Paramount’s $78-billion bid for Warner’s legendary movie studio, HBO and CNN.
Paramount “has consistently misled WBD shareholders that its proposed transaction has a ‘full backstop’ from the Ellison family,” Warner Bros. Discovery’s board wrote in a Wednesday letter to its shareholders filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
“It does not, and never has,” the Warner board said.
For Warner, what was missing was a clear declaration from Paramount that the Ellison family had agreed to commit funding for the deal. A Paramount representative was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.
The Warner auction has taken a nasty turn. Last week, Paramount launched a hostile takeover campaign for Warner after losing the bidding war to Netflix. Warner board members unanimously approved Netflix’s $72-billion deal for the Warner Bros. film and television studios, HBO and HBO Max.
In its letter, the Warner board reaffirmed its support for Netflix’s proposal, saying it represented the best deal for shareholders. Warner board members urged investors not to tender their shares to Paramount.
Board members said they were concerned that Paramount’s financing was shaky and the Ellison family’s assurances were far from ironclad. Warner also said Paramount’s proposal contained troubling caveats, such as language in its documents that said Paramount “reserve[d] the right to amend the offer in any respect.”
The Warner board argued that its shareholders could be left holding the bag.
Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison has argued his $78-billion deal is superior to Netflix’s proposal.
(Evan Agostini / Evan Agostini/invision/ap)
Paramount Chairman David Ellison has championed Paramount’s strength in recent weeks saying his company’s bid for all of Warner Bros. Discovery, which includes HBO, CNN and the Warner Bros. film and television studios, was backed by his wealthy family, headed by his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest men.
In its letter last week to shareholders, asking for their support, Ellison wrote that Paramount delivered “an equity commitment from the Ellison family trust, which contains over $250 billion of assets,” including more than 1 billion Oracle shares.
In regulatory filings, Paramount disclosed that, for the equity portion of the deal, it planned to rely on $24 billion from sovereign wealth funds representing the royal families of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi as well as $11.8 billion from the Ellison family (which also holds the controlling shares in Paramount). This week, President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners private equity firm pulled out of Paramount’s financing team.
Paramount’s bid would also need more than $60 billion in debt financing.
Paramount has made six offers for Warner Bros., and its “most recent proposal includes a $40.65 billion equity commitment, for which there is no Ellison family commitment of any kind,” the Warner board wrote.
“Instead, they propose that [shareholders] rely on an unknown and opaque revocable trust for the certainty of this crucial deal funding,” the board said.
Throughout the negotiations, Paramount, which trades under the PSKY ticker, failed to present a solid financing commitment from Larry Ellison — despite Warner’s bankers telling them that one was necessary, the board said.
“Despite … their own ample resources, as well as multiple assurances by PSKY during our strategic review process that such a commitment was forthcoming – the Ellison family has chosen not to backstop the PSKY offer,” Warner’s board wrote.
Board members argued that a revocable trust could always be changed. “A revocable trust is no replacement for a secured commitment by a controlling stockholder,” according to the board letter.
David Ellison has insisted Paramount’s Dec. 4 offer of $30 a share was superior to Netflix’s winning bid. Paramount wants to buy all of Warner Bros. Discovery, while Netflix has made a deal to take Warner’s studios, its spacious lot in Burbank, HBO and HBO Max streaming service.
Paramount’s lawyers have argued that Warner tipped the auction to favor Netflix.
Paramount, which until recently enjoyed warm relations with President Trump, has long argued that its deal represents a more certain path to gain regulatory approvals. Trump’s Department of Justice would consider any anti-trust ramifications of the deal, and in the past, Trump has spoken highly of the Ellisons.
However, Warner’s board argued that Paramount might be providing too rosy a view.
“Despite PSKY’s media statements to the contrary, the Board does not believe there is a material difference in regulatory risk between the PSKY offer and the Netflix merger,” the Warner board wrote. “The Board carefully considered the federal, state, and international regulatory risks for both the Netflix merger and the PSKY offer with its regulatory advisors.”
The board noted that Netflix agreed to pay a record $5.8 billion if its deal fails to clear the regulatory hurdles.
Paramount has offered a $5 billion termination fee.
Should Warner abandon the transaction with Netflix, it would owe Netflix a $2.8 billion break-up fee.
Warner also pointed to Paramount’s promises to Wall Street that it would shave $9 billion in costs from the combined companies. Paramount is in the process of making $3 billion in cuts since the Ellison family and RedBird Capital Partners took the helm of the company in August.
Ever wondered what happens if you accidentally forget to put your phone on airplane mode during a flight? One pilot shared the consequences of skipping this safety precaution
Christine Younan Deputy Editor Social Newsdesk
07:05, 16 Dec 2025Updated 07:35, 16 Dec 2025
There’s a reason you must always use airplane mode(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
There are many safety precautions that come with travelling on a flight. Not only do you spend ages passing through security, then finding your all-important gate information, there’s quite a procedure on-board the flight too.
You’re sat down waiting for your plane to leave the gate, but first, you must have your armrests down, windows up and phones on airplane mode. Now have you ever wondered why you should always put your device on airplane mode? One pilot explained what actually happens if you forget the safety precaution in a YouTube post shared by WKYC Channel 3.
The cabin crew member claimed it’s simply “not a conspiracy” and that it’s hardly the “end of the world” if you were to forget.
He said in the video which scooped more than 26,000 views: “This is just a friendly PSA the airplane mode button on your phone is not a conspiracy.
“So if you forget to put your phone on airplane mode, no it’s not the end of the world, the plane will not fall out of the sky and it won’t even mess with the systems on board.
“However, it does have the potential to mess with the headsets, if you have an aircraft with 70, 80 or 150 people on board and even three or four people’s phones start to try to make a connection to a radio tower for an incoming phone call, it sends out radio waves, there’s the potential those radio waves can interfere with the headsets the pilots are using.”
The pilot also explained a situation in San Francisco where he experienced an “annoying buzz” with his headset when one traveller forgot their phone during take-off.
Describing it as a “mosquito”, he said: “And as soon as we started to get the directions, we got this really annoying buzz with the headset.
“Not the end of the world but definitely annoying when you’re trying to copy down instructions and it sounds like there’s a wasp or something lying around you. So if you’re ever curious why you get put on airplane mode, that’s why.”
Why should you put phone on airplane mode?
Interferes with aircraft: Your phone sends out radio waves and when there’s a large number of devices involved, it could disrupt sensitive cockpit communications and navigate equipment. This could create a buzzing sound or other noise in a pilot’s headset.
Air traffic control: Having your phone on airplane mode could interfere during take-off and landing when pilots rely on clear communication.
Battery life: Without airplane mode, your phone constantly searches for cell towers which can drain your battery.