What does deplaning mean?
Deplaning is the act or process of getting off an aircraft, usually after it has landed and passengers are allowed to leave. The word is also the present participle and gerund of deplane, so a sentence may treat the action as a verb, while a noun use focuses on the event itself: the deplaning of passengers was delayed. It is especially common in American aviation English and contrasts with boarding, which describes passengers getting onto an aircraft rather than leaving it. In formal or international contexts, disembark is often preferred. Deplaning is useful because it names a familiar stage of air travel with a direct, plain expression, while also allowing the usual English pattern of a verb plus -ing to describe what passengers are doing. It normally refers to aircraft rather than trains, ships, or buses, although related general terms such as disembark and alight can cover those forms of transport.
To get off an aircraft, especially as a passenger after it has landed.
"The passengers waited for the aircraft to stop before deplaning."
The present participle and gerund forms are also used as a noun.
The act or process of passengers getting off an aircraft.
"The deplaning of the full-length aircraft was managed in two groups."
The plural form is uncommon; the noun is normally used in a mass sense.
The plural is uncommon. In most contexts, deplaning is used as a mass noun, as in passenger deplaning.
"Several simultaneous deplanings required additional staff at the gate."
Aircraft land, but passengers deplane—a small linguistic division of labor that is easy to miss.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does deplaning come from?
Deplaning is a 20th-century formation from deplane and the suffix -ing. Deplane was created by combining the prefix de- with plane in the aviation sense of an aircraft. Plane in this sense ultimately comes through French plan from Latin planus, meaning “flat” or “level.”
Related word forms
How deplaning is actually used
Common in North American English and also used in British English, where disembark is often preferred. It is more conversational than disembark and normally refers specifically to leaving an aircraft.