Ever seen a pilot cleaning his flight before taking off? Some of you might be wondering whether such an incident involving a pilot cleaning his cockpit or the windscreen instead of the ground staff or sanitation workers doing the job is ever noticed. Before we reveal whether such an incident is an usual thing or not, let us tell you about a video that’s going viral on social media. The footage that has taken the internet by storm allegedly shows a pilot of a Pakistani airline company cleaning the windscreen with his own hands.
Watch video
A pilot of Pakistan International Airlines is cleaning the cockpit and windscreen—such is their financial condition! pic.twitter.com/mO9CoYeUzm
— BALA (@erbmjha) September 1, 2024
The short clip opened by showing a Serene Air pilot opening is side window and stretching himself out to clean the windscreen. The pilot was himself seen clearing the view ahead to ensure a safe flight. It was learned that Airbus330 200 captured on camera is an international flight operating between Pakistan and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Netizens react
As the video showed the pilot himself cleaning the windscreen instead of a sanitation staff doing the job, unversed internet users took a dig at the incident alongside reflecting at the plight of the Pakistani airline suggesting they didn’t have enough finances to hire or pay cleaners. “A pilot of Pakistan International Airlines is cleaning the cockpit and windscreen—such is their financial condition,” X users wrote while sharing the video online. They were left in splits to see the pilot doing the cleaning work. Several people replied to the viral video with laughter emojis.
yaha tak to sahi h, bs koi sweeper ✈ na udane lage bs https://t.co/EQnUT8pK4F
— Naresh Tanwar (@nareshtanwar_) September 1, 2024
— Moral Insaan (@MoralInsaan) September 2, 2024
Pilot cleaning windscreen: Unusual or just a normal thing?
While the visuals showing a pilot of a Pakistani flight cleaning the windscreen is now going viral on the internet, let us tell you that the act is carried out by most pilots before the flight. There have been several such instances in the past too were pilots were caught cleaning their view ahead.
Similar instances
In 2013, a pilot of a Chinese flight was seen involved in the cleaning procedure. Before the boarding procedure could complete and the passengers could get seated on the plane, an Air China pilot popped out of his side window to clear his view. With a tissue or a cloth in his hand, the captain was seen cleaning the windscreen by himself. The incident was recorded on a flight from Hong Kong to Beijing with 180 passengers.
On the other hand, in a similar case, an Air Canada Star Alliance pilot was filmed cleaning the windshield before he could take off the flight in 2016.
There are even tutorial videos for the cabin crew to understand how this is done. In a YouTube video shared by Captain Joe whose videos give people a closer look into the world of aviation, he shared how pilots must clean the windscreen and said, “Our windshields get dirty due to the constant exposure to the elements. And having clear windshields is key to a safe operation of our pilots.”
