TRAY tables up, seats upright and window blinds up – anyone who has flown at least once in their life knows the drill when it comes to a plane getting ready to land.

The window rule isn't about making sure passengers check out the view though – there's a proper safety reason.

Helicopter pilot Marshall Smith has revealed why flight attendants ask passengers to open their window shades during take off and landing.

It's in case the plane encounters an emergency on hitting the ground.

If passengers need to evacuate quickly, they need to be able to see clearly to help them get off the plane as fast as possible without anyone hurting themselves.

Mr Smith wrote on the information sharing website Quora to explain.

He wrote: "The purpose is to allow your eyes to adjust to the outdoor light levels so that if there is an emergency and you have to rapidly evacuate you won't be blinded by the sudden burst of light.

"This also why they turn the lights off when landing at night – so that your eyes will be adjusted to the dark in case you have to evacuate.

"If your eyes have already been adjusted to the darkness, you can see immediately and don't have to wait for your eyes to adjust."

Aviation safety network CEO Harro Ranter added that it is important to have an outside view if a plane is involved in an emergency.

He told MailOnline Travel: "Should an evacuation become necessary, it's important to have an outside view so you can decide if that side is safe.

"If flames are visible on that side, you'd need to evacuate through another exit."

Of course, these are just contingency plans for the very unlikely event of a plane crash.

An airport in Europe has taken a unique approach to prevent plane crashes -using pigs.

And an aviation analyst has revealed the shoes you should never wear on a flight – they could even prove fatal.

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