Safety demonstration
The mandatory briefing before take-off on seatbelts, exits, life jackets, oxygen and the safety card — by video or crew demonstration.
Definition
The safety demonstration is the regulator-mandated briefing given to passengers before every take-off, covering seatbelt operation, emergency exits and lighting, oxygen masks, life jackets where carried and the location of the safety card. Airlines with in-flight entertainment usually run a video; crew stand at demo positions for the manual version and must perform it live if the video fails. It is repeated in the languages the airline's operations manual requires.
What it means for you
The demo is the moment every passenger on board judges you, and the moment most of them ignore you. Regardless, the manual demonstration is an SEP item you must be able to perform from memory on any aircraft you fly, and it is often the first thing you do in front of a real cabin as a trainee. Airlines that use the demo as brand theatre expect it polished; regulators expect it complete.
In practice
A Ryanair crew member gives the manual demo at the front of a full 737 while the purser reads the script over the PA, then walks the cabin checking belts before strapping in for take-off.
Related terms
4 terms- Safety cardRegulationThe regulator-required pictorial card in every seat pocket showing exits, brace positions and equipment for that exact aircraft type.
- Emergency exitSafety & trainingAny door or hatch certified for evacuation — the doors crew operate and the overwing exits passengers are briefed to open.
- TaxiFlight operationsThe aircraft moving on the ground under its own power between the stand and the runway — a sterile phase for cabin crew.
- PA announcementAircraft & cabinAny announcement over the aircraft's public address system — safety ones scripted by the operations manual, the rest by the purser.