Flight attendant reveals the real reason behind saying 'hello' to passengers as they board

Flight attendants use subtle gestures and secret codes that most passengers don’t notice, all designed for specific purposes. One such gesture is the seemingly simple greeting as passengers board the plane. TikTok user and flight attendant Ioana Iachim (@ioanaiachim) revealed that this welcome is more than just politeness—it serves a practical purpose. She explained the true reason behind the initial hello.

In the video, Iachim stood at the plane's gate, greeting passengers as they boarded. She revealed the importance of responding to the flight attendant's greeting beyond mere politeness. The text overlay of the video read, "Did you know that your flight attendant greets you not only out of politeness but also to check whether you're too drunk or sick to fly." Hence, one can safely assume that the flight attendant is paying a lot more attention as each passenger enters than anyone might have considered. The video received over 718k views and nearly 34k likes.

Commenters expressed their surprise at the new information, with some sharing their assumptions about the greeting. @kirstystamper commented, "All mine see is how stressed I am." Iachim reassured her and told her that flying is indeed a stressful experience for many people. @tashcrabbx wrote, "I had once seen a kid crying, so I invited them to see the pilot to reassure them everything will be okay."

@se.mp4_ expressed, "And to check if you're okay - I always get in crying and hyperventilating because I'm scared of takeoff and you always help me!" @carl.s5 assumed, "And there was me thinking it was so you see how fit and attractive they are in their uniform." @1709productions shared, "The flight attendant saw that me and my friend were a bit tipsy and, toward the end of the flight, brought us over a free bottle of champagne."

In a related story, a flight attendant also revealed that they assess a passenger from head to toe when they greet them. Kat Kamalani–who goes by @katkamalani on TikTok–shared that a flight attendant is looking for an ABP or an Able Bodied Person on board the plane to help them in emergencies as people enter the plane. These include a medical emergency, a security breach, or an emergency landing. "So, when you're walking on the airplane and you see our happy, smiling face - we're looking you up and down and we are trying to find our ABPs," the flight attendant shared.

These people can include a variety of professionals, such as military personnel, firefighters, nurses, doctors, police officers and so on. There is also another important thing flight attendants check for, as per Kamalani. "We're looking for human trafficking. It happens a lot in the industry and our passengers' safety is our number one priority, so we're just looking for things that look off." The woman also urged passengers to point these things out in case they notice something is off. "If you see something, say something."

You can follow Ioana Iachim (@ioanaiachim) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.

This article originally appeared 2 months ago.