Generally, Airlines always use the left side for boarding and deboarding of passengers, isn’t it? But no one knows what are the reasons that decide which side is for what purpose? Why don’t they use the other side?

There must have been a strong reason behind it and here we let you know the answer to this curious and logical question.

Boarding and de-boarding have become an established convention that goes unquestioned these days but it dates back to the early days of aviation. In the past, aircraft would stop close to the terminal building in order to load and unload passengers.

As the pilot sits in the left-hand seat of the aircraft, it’s much easier for him or her to judge wing clearance if they approach the terminal on the left side of the aircraft. So, left side doors made it more convenient for passengers to transit between the aircraft and the terminal. An even more basic reason for left sided entry/exit dates back to the very early days of nautical travel.

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1. Let’s go back to Ships:

Earlier, ships had steering oar on the right side because of which the ships were parked with the dock on the left side. Hence, the rudder of the ship does not get jammed between the ship and dock. That’s why ships used their left side to embark and disembark off the passengers. So, the airplanes and jets were also designed this way.

2. Soldiers mounted their horses on the left side:

This reason is taken from way back centuries when men used to carry swords and travel on horses. Remember the ancient depiction movies. In those movies, most of the men were right-handed and carried the sword on their left side of hip, they used to mount the horse from the left side so that the sword does not get in the way. Thus, the tradition continued.

3. Biplanes from World War I:

The Biplane from World War I had the stirrup on the left side, thus pilots used to mount their planes from the left side.

4. Technical Aspect (Reason):

The pilot can keep the right side of engine running as a source of power and air, without any hassle and the fuel is also carried on the right side. Thus, for safety reasons, passengers movement are kept to the left side of the plane.

Secondly, the air bridges are also on the left side. Catering is loaded from the right side of the plane.

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5. Right Side is used to hold doors:

Since the hold doors are on the right side of the plane, the baggage, the fuel and catering take place on right side of the plane. So it would get pretty crowded if passengers are also boarded and de-boarded from the side. Otherwise, the travel bags will take way too long to come off the plane. Or the bags might be hitting their heads while de-boarding.

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This keeps passengers entering or exiting separated from those functions and also allows the pilot to keep the right engine running if required. Thus, these are few reasons why airlines always use the left side for boarding and deboarding of passengers.