This is why flight attendants put their hands behind their backs when greeting passengers

Look out for it next time you fly.
This is why flight attendants put their hands behind their backs when greeting passengers

Whenever you are getting on a plane, you are normally greeted by one or two of the cabin crew. Usually one will check your boarding pass while the other remains standing with their hands behind their back.


Turns out there is a specific reason why they do this.

According to Bright Side, it's because they have to do a count of the passengers and use a small counting device behind their back to do so. Their aim is to be as discreet as possible when doing it.

Hand held tally counter counting headcount of people in a queue
They're often seen going down the aisle with the counter to double check the amount of people who have boarded the plane but this is a second count after the initial greeting stage.