When planes land in the dark why are the cabin lights dimmed?

Question

I have asked a retired airline pilot who says 'its purely so the passengers can see out of the windows!! Can any airline pilots answer this simple question.

Answer 1

Aeroplane cabin lights are dimmed on take off/landing to accustom the passenger's eyes to the dark in case there is an emergency and the power fails.

Answer 2

I am a 30 year flight attendant.  The #2 answer was close and does merit some fact.  The other reason we lower the lights is so that we can see out of the windows without any glare as we approach the runway.  If we have to evacuate, we need to see what's going on outside to help us decide what doors to open or not open.

P.S.....the odds of this happening to you is almost 0.  So keep

flying and don't worry about it.

Answer 3

You'll get loads of stupid answers to this question, such as the engines needing more power etc., but the true reason is that if you have to evacuate the aircraft, coming out of a bright environment into darkness would mean you couldn't see. It's to allow your eyes to adjust to lower light levels.

Answer 4

Airport safety.

There is such a short time between landings the Air Traffic Control could be dazzled by the lights. Despite all the electronics they still use the Mark One eyeball.