Anyone who has flown on a commercial airline will be familiar with the plane’s call button to ask for a flight attendant to come to you. But you may be uncertain as to what occasions you should use it. Some passengers think nothing of using it in a wide variety of circumstances. However, these passengers may annoy the flight attendants if they use it inappropriately.
Emergencies
An emergency, such as an illness or injury to yourself or another passenger, is an appropriate time to use the flight call buttons. This will alert the flight attendants and allow them to respond to the medical emergency.
While you may be desperate for food or drink, this is not an emergency. Instead, you should wait for the refreshment trolley or visit the galley yourself. There are many situations when call buttons are used for service, but a plane trip is not one of them.
Flight attendants will usually come when the button is pressed, even if the seatbelt sign is on, such as during turbulence, so it is vital to save it for genuine emergencies.
Assistance
There may also be non-medical occasions when you require help from the flight attendants, such as struggling to fasten your seatbelt. Airplane call buttons can then be used for this or for other safety issues.
When requested
Sometimes, flight attendants need to identify passengers, such as those with a connecting flight, so they can disembark first. The flight attendants may ask them to press the airplane call buttons as an effective way to identify them.