A flight attendant has revealed the hidden escape hatch used by crew onboard planes.
The surprising revelation was made by Virgin Atlantic crew member Blair onboard one of their long-haul Boeing 777 jets. He explained that it's used by the cabin crew to escape from their private cabins in the unlikely event of an emergency.
"As you can see there's not a lot of space up here […] similar to a little Japanese capsule hotel," he explained of the cabin in a seven-minute story posted to the airline's Instagram page.
Check out the surprising revelation in the video below:"The bunks are very comfortable… they come with a pillow, a duvet and a blanket with a nice mattress as well, so it's very comfortable. We do have seatbelts on-board, which have to be worn at all times… there's an airflow switch and also a reading light. You can read a book… or watch a movie."
Pictured below is the eight bunk chamber above economy class where flight attendants can sleep. The hatch is concealed beneath the mattress of one of these beds.
"[The hatch] is here for the crew and is very hidden," Blair explained, before revealing the emergency escape.
"It locks in place and then you can go down there. If you've ever wondered why there's an (overhead) locker without a handle… that's why."
The crew cabin is located at the rear of the economy cabin and above the overhead lockers in the 777.
This amorous couple could do with their own hatch, as they were filmed coming out of a plane toilet together:"You get a lot of the aircraft noise [in the crew cabin] like you would normally in the cabin, but you don’t hear the call bells or any PAs that come over the system," Blair explained, adding: "Our cabin manager always stays at the front left bed, so if there's an emergency we always know where our onboard leader will be."
Blair concludes his tour of this rarely seen part of the aircraft by leaving through the emergency shoot which takes cabin crew members into the economy class.
Per News.com, the shoot would be used in emergency situations like when a fire is blocking cabin crew from accessing the economy class through the usual exits. The news outlet noted that in other planes including the A380, the cabin crew area is located below the economy class and therefore the hatch leads upwards.
