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Like any industry, flight attendants have their own jargon, and while the meaning of certain phrases might seem obvious to passengers, there’s far more to it than meets the ear.

The BBC’s Beth Blair explains what’s going on behind the scenes when the cabin crew uses different terms.

“Cross-check” and “cross-check complete.”
After flight attendants prepare for arrival or departure, the aircraft’s doors need to be cross-checked — airline-speak for double-checked by another flight attendant. Sometimes you will hear, “Doors are armed and cross-check complete” which verifies the doors are engaged and ready for an evacuation in the event of an emergency. Some airlines’ cross-checks are said over the PA and others are verified via the private intercom.

“All-call.”
Airlines have different procedures for flight attendants to verify their cross-checks. Sometimes it’s done over the PA system; other times it’s requested privately. There’s where phrases such as “standby for all-call” come in. This means the inflight crew calls in from their assigned positions via the telephone intercom, conference-style.

Full story at BBC via Presurfer.

The secret language of travel.