Braylon

To let more light into the cabin and make people feel less nervous about the takeoff and landing.

Mina

That you see, if the plane crashes …..

Santino

It’s only mandatory in the exit rows— it’s up to the discretion of the flight attendants on other rows but usually, up go the blinds for everyone.

This is because takeoff and landing are the most dangerous times of the flight. If there’s going to be an emergency, chances are it will happen during takeoff or landing. If the shades are up, you are able to see out of the window. In the event of an emergency, you will easily be able to tell if there is fire or debris blocking the exit; if the shade were down, this could be a disaster as people tried to escape only to find fire, and have to go back into the plane to get to another exit! Also, having the shades up will help you orient yourself and tell which way is up, should there be a crash.

Aylin

Actually, this is not manditory in the exit rows, or anywhere else. Some flight attendants choose to have passengers do so, mainly for safety reasons. Landing is a critical phase of flight, and in an emergency evacuation, with the panic and chaos, opening the shade would be one less thing to worry about. It is not an FAA regulation, however. It could possibly be an individual airline regulation, like when laptops may be on or off, bu it isn’t manditory.