A flight attendant has explained a little-known fact about plane windows and how they work in a move that will likely put people at ease.
Flying can be an uncomfortable experience when you really think about what is actually happening.
Purely through human ingenuity and engineering brilliance you are able to travel through the sky at ridiculous speeds, thousands of feet in the air, protected from the outside in a metal box.
Admittedly that is a massive oversimplification, but you get what I mean.
Air hostess Henny Lim, who works with the Philippines-based airline Cebu Pacific shared a video to their TikTok page explained one of these brilliant engineering feats, giving details on why there are tiny little holes on plane windows.
Check your airplane window for the small holes next time you are on a flight(Getty Stock Image)
‘Bleed holes’ in plane windows explained
Cabin windows on planes are usually comprised of three layers — outer, middle and inner — mixing glass and acrylic to keep them sturdy and well insulated.
The video, posted back in 2022, has gone viral on multiple social media platforms and is admittedly something most wouldn’t have expected.
In the video the TikTok voice over said: “The mystery behind tiny holes in airplane windows.
“If you’ve ever sat in the window seat on a flight you have probably noticed the tiny hole at the bottom of the window.
“This is called the ‘bleed hole’”
While it has quite a concerning name, its purpose is quite integral to a safe flight.
The narrator continued: “The tiny hole helps to balance the pressure difference between the cabin and the outside air.
The tiny holes help keep the airplane correctly pressurized (Getty Stock Image)
“It also has another purpose which is to release moisture and stop frost/condensation from blocking your view.”
During the flight, the exterior of the airplane windows can become cold due to the low temperatures at high altitudes. Because of this, the moisture from the cabin air can fog up the windows.
So if you didn’t know now you do and have the perfect opener to tell a stranger you end up sitting with on a plane.
This isn’t the first time the hostess has explained little known facts about flying and airlines on social media.
The Mystery behind tiny holes in airplane windows! Check this video out to know! Follow my Official facebook page “Henny Joyce Lim” follow me on Instagram: _hennylim_ #fyp #HJL #cabincrewlife #tinyhole #window #cebupacific #groundstop
In a different TikTok, she explained why some airlines exclude the 13th row in the cabin.
In the clip she said: “In many cultures, number 13 is associated with bad luck.
“That is why most airlines prefer to avoid igniting the superstitions of their customers and have opted to remove the number from the seating plans.”
In the video Henny even shows how the row numbers jump from 12 to 14 on both sides of the plane.
The more you know, eh?