Flight attendant Rania shared on her TikTok channel (@itsmekikooooo) that the real reason cabin crew say hello when they welcome passengers on board is to analyse each person.

Rania explained: “Did you know that your flight attendant greets you, not only out of politeness, but also to check whether you are too drunk or sick to fly. Also to see who could help us in an emergency.”

Checking people out can help the cabin crew assess who would be able to help them in the event of an emergency or evacuation.

Thousands of social media users reacted to the video with one flight attendant saying: “It’s to see if you’re 1) safe to fly (not intoxicated) and to see if you could help in an emergency.”

Another crew member agreed saying: “FA (flight attendant) of eight years – or to check if they could be an ABA (able-bodied assistant).”

A third cabin crew member added: “We are also picking out good candidates for the event of an emergency.”

TikTok users took to the comments section to share their thoughts with one saying: “I had pancreatitis when I was in Corfu, I acted normal going on to the plane otherwise I knew they wouldn’t let me on.”

Another one joked: “Me with headphones walking on the plane completely ignoring the flight attendants…”

A third one added: “Ah okay this makes a lot of sense, I always get the same look going on flights.”

Another flight attendant explained that they “look for anyone who hasn’t got any mobility issues, can speak English, looks like they will be able to open a door and ideally travelling alone”.

According to the crew member, that makes a passenger “an ABP (able-bodied person)”, or someone who would be able to assist the crew in case of an evacuation.