Chilling code word used by flight crew that means someone has died on board

If you’ve ever heard one of these code words while traveling on an airplane, there’s a good chance that something was going on that you hadn’t realized.

That’s because the flight crew have a number of secret indicators that they use between themselves to discuss things that they don’t want the passengers to know.

So, put your phone on airplane mode, ensure your tray table is stowed...

Everything from corpses on board to annoying passengers

So, let’s start with the big ones, shall we?

If you ever hear someone say ‘Code 300’ or ‘Angel’ on board a flight, that usually means that someone is having a really tough time - to put it mildly.

According to travel experts Wander, that’s the secret code used by flight staff when there is a deceased passenger on board.

You might think it'd be difficult to keep that from the other passengers, but it happens more than you’d expect.

The code is used so that flight crew can deal with the incident without causing panic or disruption, or drawing too much attention to the situation.

Credit: Jasmin Merdan/Getty

This is just one of the codes that you might hear, so here are a few others.

‘Hotel’ or ‘Squawk 7500’ could mean that a hijacking is in process - let’s hope you never hear that one.

‘Code Yellow’ is still bad news, but not as serious.

It means that there’s a medical situation, but it might not be a life-threatening or serious one.

‘Peter Pan’ is another you could hear, which could signify a non-life-threatening emergency, or a mechanical fault with the plane.

However, this phrase also signals (reassuringly) that the flight is not in any present danger.

Credit: Mongkol Chuewong/Getty

There are code words for passengers, not just situations

If you ever get called a ‘Mermaid’ on a flight, that means that you are one of those who spreads out over a number of seats.

Finally, if you ever hear ‘VIP’ mentioned in your area, that doesn’t mean that you are about to get upgraded to First Class - quite the opposite, in fact.

You see, VIP stands for ‘Very Irritating Person’ - not ‘Very Important Person’.

That could be anyone who is a pain in the butt, arguing with staff, making unnecessary demands of the crew, whining, or generally just being frustrating.

Let’s hope that you can avoid hearing any of these code words on future flights.

Featured image credit: Mongkol Chuewong/Getty