When is it Acceptable to Press the Flight Attendant Call Button?

Crew Insider is our series of informative articles that answer some of the most common and less common questions about the aviation industry from the point of view of an industry insider. Our question answerer-in-chief is Mateusz Maszczynski, who has worked in the airline industry for nearly two decades and has honed his expertise in the field through this blog since 2015.

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Ah, the age-old question, ‘When is it acceptable to press the flight attendant call button?’ If only there were a simple answer to what seems like such a basic question. Sadly, the answer can vary massively depending on many factors, so no wonder there’s so much confusion.

What could those factors include? Well, the airline and your geographic location will play a big part, as well as the length of flight, the point of the flight at which you press the call light, and, sorry to say it, what class of travel you are flying in.

I’ll explore some of those deciding factors in a moment but first I just wanted to clarify that there’s never an excuse for the call light to be ignored by flight attendants. Sometimes, they can be missed, especially if it goes off amidst a busy service, but simply ignoring the call light isn’t acceptable.

There’s a reason why flight attendants are often reminded in training that a call light “could be a stroke, could be a Coke”. You never know the reason why someone has pressed the call light. It could be a simple request for a beverage or it could be because of a serious medical emergency.

There’s only one way to find out… go to the seat and ask the person who pressed the call light!

If it is a request for the former, then how the flight attendant responds might vary quite a bit depending on some of the factors we’ve already touched on. Let’s explore them in more detail…

What airline and geographic location you’re in

It’s perhaps a bit of a stereotype, but using the flight attendant call button on U.S.-based carriers can often be asking for trouble. Somehow, we’ve ended up in a situation where it’s been normalized within the industry that the call button should only be pressed in extremis.

It’s not that this policy is written down anywhere. Theoretically, even in the United States, the call light can be pressed by passengers for all sorts of requests. Unofficially, however, flight attendants would prefer that the call button be pressed only in a genuine emergency.

Therefore, be mindful that your request for a Coke might not be well received if you’re traveling on a U.S. carrier. That’s not to say that you will encounter a negative reaction. Some flight attendants will be more than happy to help. Other, unfortunately, less so.

The same cannot be said in other parts of the world. Traditionally, flight attendants on Asian airlines are most responsive to call lights and consider answering these requests part and parcel of their job. You also shouldn’t have any issues when flying with a Middle Eastern carrier.

This willingness to quickly respond to call lights might not be quite so evident on European carriers, but, in general, the same service approach applies. You can press the call light and make any request that you would if you were to approach a flight attendant in the galley.

The length of flight

This doesn’t need much explanation, but do you really need to press the call light multiple times during a short one-hour flight. There might be a very good reason why you need to do so but the point is that there aside from genuine emergencies you should be able to avoid pressing the call light – especially when flight attendants are hustling during these kind of short flights.

Compare that to being hemmed into a window seat during an ultra-long-haul flight, and it makes sense that you might need to press the call light. Say you wake up in the middle of the night, dehydrated but unable to get past your sleeping seatmates.

No one could argue that it isn’t then reasonable to press the call light – and don’t let anyone make you believe anything different.

The point in the flight that you press the call light

There are points in any flight that pressing the call light might mean that your request might be missed or perceived very differently, and it’s important to understand that pressing the call light at these times for a simple request might not be well received.

For example, during taxi, takeoff and landing, flight attendants are in ‘safety mode’ and they won’t be dealing with service requests at these times. During these critical phases of flight, pressing the call light really should be reserved for life or death situations.

During a meal or beverage service, however, you’re not restricted from pressing the call button but your request might be missed by flight attendants because they are busy in the cabin. When you press the call light, a corresponding light will illuminate in the galley, along with a chime. If flight attendants are in the midst of a busy service they are likely to miss these indications.

It’s not that they are choosing to ignore you, just that they aren’t aware you pressed the call light. If you can see a meal or beverage service is underway, it’s probably best to wait until a flight attendant passes and then try to get their attention in person.

The same applies during boarding, which can be a pretty busy and sometimes chaotic time, when call light indications are often accidentally missed.

What class of travel you are traveling in

There’s no way of getting around this one. Whether rightly or wrongly, call button requests are generally encouraged more in premium cabins like Business or First Class.

Again, that’s not to say that Economy or Main Class passengers should be discouraged from pressing the call light, but given the fact that premium cabins are smaller, it’s easier to keep track of call lights and respond to them promptly.