Can / Do you have to / Is it recommended to leave the plane during a stop?

Question

Next month I'm going for a long-haul flight. After the first 10 hours there is a stop scheduled. I don't have to change planes, before flying to my final destination. I've never had a flight with a stop before, so I'm a little bit unsure how this works. Do you leave the plane? Do I have to leave the plan? Do I have to stay inside?

And typically, how long are these stops?

Answer 1

It is, in my experience, either mandatory or forbidden, never optional.

• On a flight from JFK to JNB, we stopped in Dakkar. Some people left the plane because that was their destination. Then security came on, did a quick search of the empty seats, new people got on, insecticide was sprayed, and we left.
• On a flight LAX-SYD-Melbourne, everybody had to get off and the Melbourne people were told to stay in the gate area to line up and reboard. Also to take all their stuff with them.

Keeping track of who left the plane and who didn't would be a nightmare. Even the Dakkar experience seemed suboptimal to me.

Answer 2

I agree with what Kate Gregory has already written and I want to add a bit of my personal experience.

• flight Milan - Mombasa (charter company, I think): we stopped in Assuan for fuel and nobody was allowed to get off the plane (nobody boarded it, either);
• KLM flight Amsterdam - Lima : we stopped over in Aruba, were told to get off while the tanks were filled for the last leg; I don't know whether it was so because Aruba is in practice still Dutch territory (or at least it was in 1999);
• Air France flight Paris - Mumbai : we stopped in Delhi and everybody was told to get off, then those who continued to Mumbai re-embarked, disinfectant was sprayed and some new people boarded the plane.

I suppose you could enquire with the airline and get the information from them.