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Please Pay Attention – Or Not? Why Passengers Ignore Flight Safety Announcements and What Aviation Can Do About It
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“We ask for your full attention as we demonstrate the safety features of this aircraft.”
It’s a phrase heard on nearly every commercial flight—yet one that often goes unnoticed. Passengers glance at their phones, continue conversations, or simply tune out. Even frequent flyers admit to ignoring the safety demonstration altogether.
This widespread lack of attention might appear careless, but it’s more accurately a product of how the human brain works. In this article, we explore the psychological mechanisms behind this phenomenon and examine how airlines and designers can use the latest psychological knowledge to improve safety communication—without compromising seriousness.
The Psychology of Inattention
Ignoring flight safety announcements is not simply a result of boredom or disinterest. Several well-understood psychological factors contribute to this behaviour.
1. Familiarity and Habituation
The brain is efficient. When it detects repeated and predictable information—s...
Patterns in the Sky. Why Seat 11A Became a Legend – and What It Tells Us About the Human Mind?
A coincidence that went viral
On 12 June 2025 Air India Flight 171 crashed just seconds after take-off from Ahmedabad. Of the 242 people on board, only one passenger survived: British-Indian businessman Vishwash Kumar Ramesh in seat 11A. News outlets were quick to christen the episode a “miracle”Â
Within hours, commentators noticed an eerie echo: in 1998 Thai Airways Flight TG 261 also counted a survivor in 11A – singer Ruangsak Loychusak – though 44 other passengers lived as well.
Two catastrophes, 27 years apart, two men walking away from the same seat number. A myth was born.
Why our brains chase patterns
Humans are spectacular pattern-spotters. When faced with chaos, we try to impose order – a process neuroscientists call apophenia (Brugger 2001). Michael Shermer describes this as “patternicity” – our tendency to find meaningful connections in random data (Shermer 2008).
Evolutionarily it makes sense: seeing a pattern in rustling grass (“Maybe that’s a predator”) was safer tha...
Author
Aleksandra Kapela
I’m Aleksandra Kapela — an aviation psychologist, human factors specialist, and certified ground instructor with over a decade of experience in pilot assessment, training, human factors and well-being. I work with flight schools, airlines, and training organizations to improve pilot selection, support, and development — especially through CBTA, psychometrics, and human factors integration. I’m also a speaker at global conferences. Through MyWingman.eu, I offer practical resources for pilots, airlines and flight schools — including assessments, well-being programs, and consultancy. On this blog, I share psychological insights that help aviation professionals perform, stay safe, and thrive — on the ground and in the sky.
