Ding. Creak. Rattle. Whirr. There are a range of very normal noises passengers hear while flying, and now a flight attendant is attempting to demystify some of them.
American cabin crew member Tommy Cimato posted on TikTok about the meaning behind different chime sounds passengers hear on-board planes in a video that’s been viewed more than 12 million times.
Essentially, the chimes are how crew communicate with each other, and each chime indicates a different code; one chime has a different meaning than two or three chimes.
“Have you ever heard these sounds on a plane before? Do you ever wonder what that means?” Tommy said.
One chime is frequently used on flights and simply means a passenger has hit the call button.
“If you hear just one tone, that means that a passenger is calling one of the flight attendants from their seat or they could be calling us from the lavatory,” Tommy said.
However, hearing three chimes is less common and more concerning as it signals an emergency.
“If you hear three of those high-low chimes, that means it’s an emergency – but you never have to hear that,” he said.
And a high ding followed by a low sound has a different meaning – a crew member is trying to communicate with another teammate or the flight deck is trying to call the flight attendants.
“A high-low chime means that one flight attendant is trying to call the other flight attendant or the flight deck is trying to call us,” Tommy explained.
Others commented on TikTok about the chimes, saying the system can vary for different airlines.
One person commented: “Heads up, though, each airline’s chime systems are different. My airline used to use the three chimes to notify the FA’s that we were about to land.”
And another wrote: “The aircraft that I work on three chimes is calling the purser specifically.”
Others shared their stories of hearing the three chimes: “Heard three tones once and all the fight attendants froze. Turns out it was an accident but I overheard them talking about what it meant afterwards.”
Another added: “I flew out of ROC yesterday (12/11) and there were winds of 55 knots at take off. I heard the three chimes and was wondering what it mean
While lastly, another said: “Heard the three chimes during a nine hour flight from LA to Sydney. It was a smoke alarm from a woman using hairspray in the bathroom – scared me to death.”
While another said: “I called with three tones many times in a row, wondering why nobody is answering. Pilots freaked out. It was my first flight as a flight attendant”.