Why do passengers always board the plane through the left door?

The passenger door to board the airplane is always on the left side of the aircraft. Because of that, many people even don’t know that there is a door on the right side too.

Many people do not know why passengers always board through the left door of the plane. (Photo: The Geography)

Why do passengers always board the plane through the left door?

Part of the reason comes from reality, and part comes from convention. Safety is the first reason explaining why passengers always board through the left door of the plane.

On the Travel And Leisure website, former pilot Dan Bubb, a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in the United States, explained that many activities on the plane take place on the right side. Ground staff perform tasks such as refueling, loading and unloading checked baggage, transporting cargo, and serving food and drinks on the plane… It would be quite dangerous for passengers to board the plane from the right side when many vehicles and equipment are in operation.

This is even more necessary if passengers leave the plane using the stairs instead of the jet bridge. In that case, passengers and crew need to stay away from any potentially dangerous occupational activities happening on the other side.

After landing and preparing to disembark, anyone sitting by the right window can see ground staff working with specialized equipment. They have to complete their tasks in a very short time, enough for the plane to make a quick turn and perform the next flight. The right side of the plane is reserved for their work.

Ground crew urgently working on fueling, transporting cargo within a relatively short period of time (Photo: Airlines-IATA)

The second reason is that passengers boarding and disembarking through the left door makes it convenient for pilots to observe or align the jet bridge with the plane.

On the Quora forum, Vishnu Ravi, an aerospace engineer, stated that boarding the plane from the left side allows the pilot to accurately align the plane’s door with the terminal. If the pilot performs the operation inaccurately, the wings of the plane might hit the building.

Another answer to the question of why passengers always board through the left door of the plane is that from ancient times, boarding from the left side was conventionally followed by the naval tradition, when ships used the left side (port side) for passengers to board and disembark.

The Maritime industry has a very popular term called “port and starboard”, in which the port side is the left side. In the past, sailors used oars to control the boat, and because most people are right-handed, the oar was placed on the right side of the boat. When the boat reached the shore, the left side of the boat would be next to the pier. Therefore, the left side is the side used for cargo, and passengers also board and disembark there. The Aviation industry was born after the Maritime industry and followed the old convention, boarding and disembarking the plane from the left side.

In the Aviation industry, the left side door is the passenger and crew door, while the right side door is the “service door” for fueling, loading and unloading of luggage, food…

According to VTC news