*TAKE YOUR SEATS* Two teas please
A question following an intriguing occurrence on a flight from Stansted to Dublin very recently from the POV of a 'passenger'. I'll give a bit of a background;
We were delayed on the ground due to slot restrictions imposed by Eurocontrol early that morning, this had a knock on effect for the remainder of the day and made for a very rushed flight back to Dublin which was 10 minutes quicker than usual (I make this flight twice a month for family), so the rushing made up some time. Anyway, after being given a direct into Dublin after PENIL, the crew were not even halfway down the aisle with the trolley. By the coastline on the approach to 28 (which is about 4.5 miles out) the crew had 3 rows to go to the center of the cabin. The 'seats for landing' had already been made prior (though not much before) from the flight deck. At what must have been 2-3 miles out, the crew ran down the aisle to secure the trolleys in the aft galley, gave the thumbs up to the front of the cabin, the supervisor banged on the cockpit door, and with about 60 seconds to go, the cabin was secure.
Is this normal? I must say it was impressive, but on the other hand, seemed a bit sketchy. I wonder how long the crew would have left it to advise that the cabin wasn't secure? What is the prescribed distance most aircraft can go on the approach before having to go around if the cabin isn't ready?
Thanks, and am interested to hear some of the answers.