Dear Passengers Controls: Complete Keyboard & Mouse Guide

Dear Passengers Control Overview

Mastering the Dear Passengers controls is essential for efficient flight management. The game features a comprehensive control scheme that gives you precise command over every aspect of your flight operations. Whether you're playing with keyboard and mouse or using a controller, understanding all the available inputs will dramatically improve your response times and overall effectiveness.

This guide covers every control in Dear Passengers, organized by function and platform. We'll walk through the default keyboard and mouse layout, controller configurations, and provide tips on customizing your controls for maximum efficiency.

Keyboard and Mouse Controls

The keyboard and mouse control scheme in Dear Passengers is designed to give you fast access to all game functions while maintaining the precision that only a mouse can provide for menu navigation and object interaction.

Movement Controls

Movement through the cabin is controlled using the standard WASD layout. W moves you forward through the aisle, S moves you backward, and A and D strafe left and right respectively. This intuitive movement system allows you to navigate the aircraft cabin naturally, moving between rows of seats and accessing different sections of the plane.

Holding the Shift key while moving puts you into a brisk walk, which is useful for covering longer distances in the cabin quickly. However, be careful about running near passengers, as it can cause alarm and negatively impact their comfort levels. During emergencies, the Shift key becomes essential for rapid response, but in normal situations, a calm walking pace is more appropriate.

Camera and View Controls

Your mouse controls the camera view, allowing you to look around the cabin freely. This is essential for spotting passengers who need attention, identifying the source of unusual sounds, and generally maintaining situational awareness. The mouse wheel zooms your view in and out, which is particularly useful when you need to focus on a specific passenger or equipment panel.

Right-clicking and holding allows you to orbit the camera around a fixed point, giving you a better angle on whatever you're examining. This is particularly useful in tight spaces or when you need to see behind objects in the cabin. Pressing the middle mouse button resets your camera to the default forward-facing position.

Interaction Controls

The E key is your primary interaction button. Approaching any interactive object — a passenger, a piece of equipment, a door, or a system panel — and pressing E will open the relevant interaction menu. The options available in these menus vary depending on what you're interacting with and the current situation.

The F key is used for quick actions, allowing you to perform the most common interaction with an object without opening the full menu. For example, pressing F near a passenger will initiate a quick wellness check, while pressing F near a fire extinguisher will immediately grab it for use.

System Management Controls

Accessing and managing aircraft systems is a core part of Dear Passengers gameplay. The 1 through 5 number keys provide quick access to your most important systems. By default, 1 opens the engine management panel, 2 opens the electrical systems display, 3 shows cabin pressure controls, 4 brings up communications, and 5 displays the passenger manifest.

The TAB key opens your radial quick-access menu, which can be fully customized in the settings menu. This is where you'll place your most-used tools and actions for quick access without having to navigate through multiple menus.

Controller Support

Dear Passengers offers full controller support with an intuitive layout designed specifically for gamepads. The controller scheme has been optimized to provide the same level of control as keyboard and mouse while being comfortable for extended play sessions.

Standard Controller Layout

On a standard controller, the left analog stick controls your movement through the cabin, with the right stick handling camera movement. The left trigger lowers your movement speed for precise positioning, while the right trigger is used for sprinting when you need to move quickly.

The A button (or Cross on PlayStation controllers) serves as your primary interaction button, equivalent to the E key on keyboard. The B button (Circle) is used for quick actions, and the X button (Square) opens contextual menus. The Y button (Triangle) brings up your quick-access radial menu.

The D-pad provides quick access to your most important systems: Up for engines, Down for cabin pressure, Left for electrical systems, and Right for communications. This allows for rapid system monitoring without taking your thumb off the movement controls.

Controller Customization

You can fully customize the controller layout in the settings menu. This includes remapping any button to any function, adjusting stick sensitivity, and configuring dead zones. Players who are accustomed to specific control schemes from other games will find the customization options comprehensive enough to replicate their preferred setup.

Control Tips for Efficiency

One of the most effective ways to improve your gameplay is to minimize the time you spend navigating menus. Learn the keyboard shortcuts for your most common actions and practice using them until they become muscle memory. The less time you spend clicking through menus, the more time you have to focus on your passengers and systems.

Customize your radial menu thoughtfully. The default radial menu includes a broad set of options, but you'll be much more effective if you tailor it to your specific playstyle and the type of flights you typically run. Put your most frequently used actions on the cardinal directions for the fastest access.

Platform-Specific Control Notes

PC players have access to the full range of control customization, including the ability to create multiple control profiles for different types of flights. You might want one profile optimized for short domestic flights where passenger management is the primary focus, and another for long-haul international routes where system monitoring is more critical.

Console players on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S benefit from the haptic feedback features of their respective controllers. The DualSense controller on PS5 provides immersive tactile feedback that helps you feel the state of your aircraft, while the Xbox controller's impulse triggers can communicate system status through varying levels of resistance.