How to give a passenger safety briefing

Every passenger you carry must be briefed on the aircraft's emergency equipment and procedures, whether or not they are sharing the cost. The briefing can be given on the ground before the flight or, where appropriate, during it, and it is your responsibility as pilot in command.

This guide covers what the rules require, what the CAA recommends you add, and how to use our free safety video so passengers arrive at the aircraft already knowing the basics. The one-page pilot's checklist on this page is designed to print and keep in your flight bag, or tick through on a tablet in the cockpit.

What the law requires

The duty is the same on both legal routes:

• Part-21 aircraft - NCO.OP.130: "The pilot-in-command shall ensure that before or, where appropriate, during the flight, passengers are given a briefing on emergency equipment and procedures."
• Permit aircraft and microlights - Air Navigation Order 2016, article 73(1): "The pilot in command must ensure that before or, where appropriate, during the flight, passengers are given a briefing on emergency equipment and procedures."

The CAA's acceptable means of compliance, AMC1 NCO.OP.130, sets out what the briefing should include:

• the location and use of seat belts; and, if applicable,
• emergency exits;
• passenger emergency briefing cards;
• life-jackets;
• oxygen dispensing equipment;
• life rafts;
• other emergency equipment provided for individual passenger use; and
• the location and general manner of use of the principal emergency equipment carried for collective use (in a light aircraft, typically the fire extinguisher).

Two related duties sit alongside it. Passengers must occupy a seat and have their safety belt properly secured "prior to and during taxiing, take-off and landing, and whenever deemed necessary in the interest of safety" (NCO.OP.150; ANO article 71). And if the cabin altitude will exceed 13,000 feet, passengers must be briefed on supplemental oxygen (ANO article 74, for non-Part-21 aircraft).

What the CAA recommends you cover

The CAA's Safety Sense Leaflet 02, Care of Passengers goes further than the legal minimum. Its emergency briefing should include the operation of the seatbelts, the location and operation of doors, canopies and emergency exits, the operation of safety equipment such as life-jackets, rafts and personal locator beacons, and what to do in an emergency, such as the brace position and evacuating.

It also suggests you cover:

• At the airfield - escort passengers to and from the aircraft, board and disembark with the engine shut down, and explain propeller safety and how to approach and climb in.
• The controls - keep hands, feet, cameras and bags clear of them.
• Headsets and the radio - how the intercom works and how not to talk over radio calls.
• Quiet periods - the critical phases of flight when passengers should not talk to you unless it's an emergency.
• Lookout - ask passengers to point out other aircraft.
• Phones - flight mode, because phones can cause interference in headsets.
• Feeling unwell - tell you straight away, and have sick bags ready.

Send the video before the flight

Our free passenger safety video walks passengers through the SAFETY briefing in under four minutes:

Send it to passengers a day or two before the flight, alongside their cost-sharing declaration, so they arrive knowing what to expect. Then use your briefing at the aircraft to cover what the video can't.

What only you can brief

The video is deliberately general. At the aircraft, show your passengers the equipment and procedures of the aircraft you are actually flying:

• how this aircraft's doors or canopy open and latch, from the inside, and what to do if one comes open in flight;
• the type of harness, how to tighten it and how to release it;
• where the fire extinguisher, first aid kit and any personal locator beacon are, and who uses them;
• life-jackets, how to put them on and when, if you are crossing water - the CAA recommends they are worn in single engine piston aircraft;
• the brace position for the seats in this aircraft, and how to get out after a forced landing;
• the carbon monoxide detector, what it looks like when it alarms, and what you will do (CAA Safety Directive SD-2024/001 requires a functioning active detector in piston aircraft carrying passengers without a recognised pilot qualification, with some exceptions);
• anything specific to the flight, such as a planned landing away or a long sea crossing.

Keep it calm and practical. The CAA suggests emphasising that most emergencies are survivable, and focusing on how to open the doors and get out.

Children and other passengers

Infants under two must be secured on an adult's lap with a loop belt, or in a child restraint device suitable for aviation. The CAA recommends another adult is on board to look after young children so they don't distract you. For passengers under 18, the cost-sharing declaration is accepted by someone with legal authority for them - see what passengers must sign.

The briefing and the cost-sharing paperwork

The safety briefing and the cost-sharing declaration are separate requirements. The declaration records that each passenger has been told the flight does not meet commercial air transport safety standards, and accepts that. The briefing tells them how to use the aircraft's emergency equipment. A cost-shared flight needs both, and the compliance checklist puts them in order.

Split My Flight sends each passenger the cost-sharing information and collects their declaration online before the flight, and you can send passengers the safety video page yourself at the same time, keeping your briefing at the aircraft for the things only you can show them.