How did the passenger cabin crew write “

The departure for Austria Airlines's flight to A320 has begun. Nadine Wetter is head of the cabin crew. She welcomes the first passengers: “Hello, welcome! Do you know where to sit? First, she looks carefully at each of the 180 passengers in her face.

Image View: What information can be read by eye contact? Is the person angry? Did he use alcohol or drugs? Or is the person just a simple fear of flying?

When I observe a passenger who is aggressive when boarding a plane, for example, we approach again to assess the situation properly”, says Wetter, who is responsible for security, service and management of the cabin crew in flight. “Then we have to decide relatively quickly: can this passenger fly or, in the worst case, get him off the plane?

A quick assessment in seconds

What our eyes do is truly incredible. Our eyes help us to recognize shapes, colors, and movements, to be guided into space, and to appreciate people and situations.

A person's mental state can be highly appreciated through careful eye contact, confirms Professor Leonhard Schilbach, psychiatrist, human interaction researcher and leading physician at the LVR clinic in Düsseldorf.

In the Public Health Document ARD “My body. My eyes”, the scientist explains that our “scan vision” is actually based on neurobiology. The brain regions react within milliseconds, so the first assessment is formed in a moment. ”

Eye reading is not the same as profiling

In addition to training in crisis situations, self-defense, quick assistance and hospitality, this “scan outlook” practiced is one of the most important capabilities for flight assistants. However, this “upperpower” visual should not be confused with professional reading facial expressions used in psychotherapy or the profile of the FBI.

“However, experienced flight assistants develop an unerring sense of specific situations during boarding during the years”, explains Alexander Ziss, communications manager at the Lufthansa Aviation Training Centre.

The Centre in Munich trains pilots and cabin crews for all airlines in the Lufthansa Group, which includes Austrian Airlines since 2009.

Eye Communication

With more than 20 years of flying experience, Nadine Wetter also works as cabin crew instructor. At her seminars, she explains that eyes not only serve as scanners but also as a key tool for communication within the flight team.

Work within altitudes of up to 12,000 metres presents particular challenges. For more than 2,500 flight assistants in Austrian Airlines, nonverbal communication is for this crucial reason.

We are trained to solve a situation as soon as possible and we know that we can rely on each other 100 percent at any time, even if we don't know each other at all”, says Wetter. Group work and tranquillity are essential, especially when the situation becomes stressful. If you panic, you can't open the door and get out. ”

Checking facial expressions and gestures is the key

All that is needed is an unconscious blink of the eyes - the passenger will notice it, and that only gesture can cause conflict”, says this instructor. That's why it's extremely important to check your facial expressions and movements.

Golden rules are: Keep your arms relaxed, never cross them; keep an open position of your body, do not lean anywhere, and always keep eye contact with both colleagues and passengers.

Synchronize brain waves

Our eyes have a double role they take and send signals, so they're a key part of human communication. Through our sight, we absorb visual information, but at the same time we send social signals and we start interaction.

Leonhard Schilbach explains what happens in the brain right now: “in the so-called metoment network, which helps us put ourselves in other people's place, the same networks in the brain of both people who communicate are neurofunctional. ”

This phenomenon is called intercebral communication, and it is more pronounced during music, kissing, or chess together.

“This process takes place mainly unconsciously”, says psychiatrist and neuroscientist. Fortunately, the ability to see a situation from another person's perspective can be trained, just as reading nonverbal signals.

Eyes and empathy base flight work

Both processes are caused by the above - mentioned mentalization network. It is interesting that it is automatically activated as soon as we pay attention to someone's view. Our social brain then tries to understand what's going on inside that person, what you're thinking and what has attracted your attention to”, Schilbach explains.

This skill is vital to the cabin crew. On one flight, Wetter walks through the cabin and monitors the faces of passengers. So I know trouble, hidden cries for help or fear. Many passengers openly admit to being afraid of flying and seeking assistance”, she says.

In such situations, the head of the cabin crew always takes time to develop a “one conversation with a”. Empathy is essential here. When she talks to the passengers, she may feel exactly how her inner peace is transmitted to them.

A window into someone else's soul

It's interesting that the eyes can really be a window in someone else's soul”, Schilbach says. With her reaction, Nadine allows passengers to know that she sees them and understands how they feel. ”

This ability is invaluable when it comes to dealing with fear, the psychiatrist points out, based on his extensive clinical experience. People feel more secure when they see that someone understands what they're going through and asks them how they are. This has a very soothing effect. ”

Nadine Wetter himself confirms that <x0) scan visualization” in a flight only works if combined with true empathy. When I get off the plane, passengers often come to me to thank me. They say it mattered a lot to them that I was radiating and inculcating a sense of security. / DW