Here’s the real reason why flight attendants greet passengers when they board — they’re not just being friendly

There’s more here than “greets” that eye.

Welcoming travelers aboard a plane might seem like a polite courtesy, but there’s another reason flight attendants greet people with a smile: to size them up.

A stewardess recently spilled the beans on this ulterior motive in a video with more than 6.2 million views on TikTok.

“Did you know that your flight attendant greets you not only out of politeness?” Rania, a flight attendant with Hungarian budget carrier Wizz Air, wrote in the caption over footage of her making an inflight announcement.

Wizz Air flight attendant Rania spills the beans on this airplane policy. @itsmekikooooo/TikTok

She revealed that their greeting is “to check whether you are too drunk or sick to fly,” adding that it also is helpful “to see who could help us in an emergency.”

In industry terms, crew members are looking for “able-bodied passengers (ABPs)” who could potentially assist in “evacuating an aircraft.”

They want to look for the opposite as well so that they don’t place certain passengers — including children, the elderly and those with physical and mental disabilities — in an exit row, where a lack of mobility could impede an evacuation.

Flight attendants greet boarding passengers. sorapop – stock.adobe.com

An airline welcoming committee also acts as an unofficial second security checkpoint.

Airplane greeters check for suspicious bags like coolers and, as Rania indicated, also try to determine whether passengers are too drunk to fly by giving everyone a quick “hello.”

Commenters shared mixed feelings about learning the truth behind the hospitable-seeming measure.

Rania explained that flight attendants are checking “to see who could help us in an emergency.” @rania_ibo/Instagram

“Flight attendants should mind their business,” one viewer bizarrely said, while another wrote, “I knew you were judging me!”

“I was expecting ‘because they have to’” said a third.

Interestingly, commenters seemed most perturbed by crew members’ purported drunk-testing duties.

“I have to be drunk to fly otherwise I’m terrified,” fretted one viewer before asking for “any tips” to help them.

Another claimed, “Once I had to take a breathalyzer because I said to the really pretty flight attendant ‘good night’ when she said hello. I was sober.”

Nonetheless, testing whether or not passengers are tipsy appears increasingly essential given the spate of booze-fueled shenanigans plaguing the friendly skies of late.