The past couple of years has seen major changes in air travel including mandated face masks, fewer in-flight meals, decreasing leg room, and fees for luggage.
However you may feel about these modifications, you should know that air travel has seen even bigger changes over the past decades. Here are three activities that you might be surprised to learn used to be allowed on a plane.
Carrying Knives
Before the tragic events of September 11, 2001, knife-toting passengers were common on commercial planes. Prior to this time, passengers were allowed to carry knives as long as the blade was no more than four inches long. This meant that many passengers on flights carried pocket knives and other sharp instruments with them in their pockets and carry-ons.
After the attacks, the FAA announced that no cutting instruments of any kind or made of any material would be allowed on flights. Restaurants and stores in airport terminals were also barred from selling knives and other sharp objects.
Smoking
As any frequent flyer knows, no-smoking signs light up every single row of seats on a commercial airplane. This wasn’t the case before 1990. The clean air we now enjoy on our flights is thanks to the tireless efforts of a couple of concerned senators, a handful of health groups, and hundreds of determined flight attendants across the country. Their efforts yield success towards the banning of smoking inside the airplane.
Smoking was banned on all U.S. domestic flights on February 25, 1990. Soon afterward all global flights to and from the United States became smoke-free. You might not even notice those little no smoking signs that line the cabins of airplanes today, but they are doing important work. No smoking signs help protect other passengers from secondhand smoking.
Walking Around
Today’s travelers know that any amount of unnecessary standing around will get them a gentle but firm scolding from one of the flight attendants onboard. However, in the past standing and walking around were tolerated and even encouraged. Luxurious first-class lounges were popular places for passengers to mingle over drinks, and pre-9/11 passengers might even be invited for a special mid-flight visit to the cockpit.
You might be longing for the golden age of air travel, complete with plush seats, ample legroom, and gourmet, four-course meals. However, you would also have to put up with stifling, smoky air and flights that take twice as long.
While all travelers could put up with a little more legroom, don’t forget to offer a few moments of gratitude for the positive changes that help modern air travelers stay healthy and safe.
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