A flight attendant may ask a passenger to open an airplane window shade during boarding or before takeoff so the cabin crew can see outside during the first and last few minutes of flight. In the United States, that step is airline policy, not an FAA requirement.
United States and United
United has made open shades official policy in recent years. The International Air Transport Association recommends open shades for takeoff and landing as a safety best practice, but the FAA does not require the same rule in the United States, leaving individual airlines to decide whether passengers must follow it.
Airlines want shades open because pilots have less time to react when an aircraft is close to the ground. Near the runway, traffic can include other planes, ground vehicles, and sometimes animals, and an open shade can make smoke, a stray spark near the engine, ice on the wing, or a tire problem easier to spot.
The International Air Transport Association
A closed shade can let a problem go unnoticed until there is little time left to act. Open shades also give crew and first responders a better view of fire, debris, or water outside before a door is opened, and passengers' eyes take a few seconds to adjust from a dim cabin to bright daylight or from bright light to dim conditions.
That adjustment matters if an evacuation begins. Airlines want people on board to have already adapted before they reach the door, so the cabin is not split between darkness and glare at the moment when outside conditions need to be assessed fastest.
The practical question for passengers is simple: if a flight attendant asks for the shade to be open, the request is tied to what crews may need to see during takeoff and landing. In the United States, the requirement comes from airline policy rather than federal regulation, so the rule can differ from one carrier to another.
