Video is circulating on Twitter and Reddit of a plane that’s pusing back from the gate while dozens of passengers are still standing in the aisle and galley, stowing bags, and aren’t belted in. The cabin is plainly not “secured” yet – passengers are on their feet, overhead bins aren’t all latched.
And people are freaking out. But it’s not as unusual as everyone seems to think.
Plane is getting pushed back while passengers still aren't seated? pic.twitter.com/7MOa3grZGU
— Turbine Traveller (@Turbinetraveler) November 6, 2025
This is a bad idea! But what’s actually happening here isn’t what everyone thinks. The plane is being towed off the gate. It is not taxiing under its own power. And for this plane, that matters.
This looks to me like an Austrian Airlines Airbus narrowbody, probably an A320. I recognize the dark grey slimline seats with bright red headrest covers. You can see a Lufthansa jet out the window. And it was reportedly a flight from Copenhagen to Vienna.
- U.S. FAA regulations say that eatbelts must be fastened “during movement on the surface” (which includes being towed), and the seatbelt sign must be on.
- But my understanding is that European safety rules are different – requiring the cabin to be secured before taxiing, and pushback under tow is not taxiing. It’s a bit of a ‘gray zone’ practice in Europe.
Tugs can jolt or stop abruptly and standing passengers can fall. Unlatched bins might then dump their contents. So “remain seated with seatbelt fastened while the aircraft is moving” is probably a better idea. So even if this is not explicitly banned during pushback under European Union Aviation Safety Agency rules, it’s still not a best practice.
However, in Europe airports and air traffic are run like a tightly synchronized conveyor belt. Every flight gets a reserved takeoff slot and a linked off-blocks time. If a flight misses either by a few minutes, it can lose its place in line and get a new (worse) time.
In most cases in the U.S. – aside from flow-control times on bad days – it’s more first-come, first-served. Traffic gets sorted as you go. So if a plane pushes a couple of minutes late, that doesn’t cause it to “lose its slot” the same way.
As a result, since a long boarding process can risk a flight missing its small window and incurring a delay penalty, airlines are under pressure to close up and get moving immediately once the ground sequence opens. That’s why you’ll sometimes see pushback start while cabin crew are still hustling to finish their last checks.
It’s funny in a way to see a Germanic airline far looser with rules than U.S. carriers, and this much movement in the cabin isn’t common. Still, it’s pretty eye-popping for a U.S. audience to see.
“It’s funny in a way to see a Germanic (anything) far looser with rules than U.S. (anything)…” but, it really depends on the era… PAPERS!!
Virgin Atlantic FAs routinely instruct passengers on delayed flights with tight connections to get up and gather all their carryon baggage and congregate at 2L during taxi in.
Interestingly I noticed that for many years Endeavor would not being tug pushback until the safety brief was complete, but mainline and the other regional operators had no problem with FAs performing the safety brief during pushback and taxi. I think this may have changed in the past few years though.
Americans really exaggerate how dangerous it is to stand up on a plane while it’s moving on the ground. The thing’s going maybe 15 to 30 miles an hour at most, about the speed of someone biking down the street. The FAA’s own data shows that injuries on the ground almost always happen while people are boarding or getting off, not because someone stood up while taxiing. Honestly, you’re way more likely to trip on the jet bridge or an airport escalator than get hurt while standing for a few seconds on a slow-moving plane.
Same deal with light or moderate turbulence. The NTSB says there are fewer than 40 turbulence-related injuries a year across nearly a billion passengers, and almost all of those are flight attendants who have to move around regardless. The bumps you feel are about the same as a car hitting a few potholes. Sure, the seatbelt sign is there for a reason, but standing up to stretch or hit the bathroom in mild chop isn’t some reckless act. Other countries are a lot looser about seatbelt rules and don’t see any spike in injuries. The whole “never stand up” mindset is just another example of Americans treating minor risks like major threats. It’s actually super annoying.
@Mike Hunt — “Americans treating minor risks like major threats…” Yeah, and we also tend to treat major risks like minor threats, too, as long as billionaires make more money off it.