The pre-flight safety demonstration (also known as a pre-flight briefing, in-flight safety demonstration, safety instructions, or simply the safety video) is a detailed explanation given before takeoff to airline passengers about the safety features of a commercial aircraft.
On smaller aircraft this may take place in the form of a live briefing performed by flight attendants standing up in the aisles, while another flight attendant narrates over the public address system. On many larger aircraft equipped with in-flight entertainment, safety demonstrations may take place in the form of a video, which typically lasts 2 to 6 minutes. In consideration for travelers not speaking the airline's official language and for the passengers with hearing problems, the video may feature subtitles, an on-screen signer, or may be repeated in another language. Some safety videos are made using three dimensional graphics.[1]
By 2009 several airlines have striven to make distinctive safety videos. Many safety videos were uploaded to YouTube.[2][3]Cebu Pacific choreographed the entire demonstration to Lady Gaga's Just Dance and Katy Perry's California Gurls as an experiment during one of their flights.[4]
Safety demonstrations are required by the basic international air safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
A safety demonstration typically covers all these aspects, not necessarily in this order:
Many Middle Eastern carriers (such as Etihad Airways, Gulf Air and Egyptair) also include a prayer for travelers out of the Koran at the beginning of their safety demonstration videos
If an emergency happens once airborne, flight attendants are trained to calmly brief passengers with emergency procedures quickly.