Airplane window blinds

[Dee Sa]

What exactly [in a nutshell] are the rules and regs for putting blinds up & down on an aircraft. It came up in conversation yesterday and nobody was really sure.
many thanks.

[Quizmonster]

Click here, Dee, for earlier answers to this question. Clanad - one of the answerers - is a qualified pilot, so he should know!

[Dee Sa]

many thanks Dee

[Boo Boo]

Also to do with crossing time zones, for example on a long flight most people may be sleeping due to their body clocks saying it is the middle of the night but outside it is full daylight. In this situation the cabin crew will generally marshall the closing and opening of the blinds.

Personally, I hate it when you've finally managed to get comfortable and fall asleep on a plane and then some tw@t opens the blind to see where they are and a bright ray of light hits you straight in the face like a laser beam!

[heathfield]

In addition to previous answers, the blinds are up on landing and take-off so that the emergency services can see into the aircraft in the event of their being needed.