Air passengers who film or grab belongings in emergencies put lives at risk, IATA says

Air passengers who stop to grab their belongings during in-flight emergencies instead of immediately evacuating the aircraft are putting their own and others’ lives at risk, a global aviation body has said, announcing a new safety campaign to remind people how to behave.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) launched its “save a life, not a bag” campaign to raise awareness that “Taking baggage during an evacuation can slow movement through the cabin, block aisles and exits, prevent passengers from using their hands, and injure others.” The association noted that while aircraft are designed to be fully evacuated within 90 seconds, belongings such as “bags can also puncture evacuation slides, obscure exit path lighting, become caught on seats or fixtures, and create hazards for crew and rescue personnel outside the aircraft.”

According to research conducted among air travellers in Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, only 61% passengers knew the relevant safety rules surrounding emergency evacuations. Speaking bluntly to IATA’s annual meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Nick Careen, IATA’s senior vice-president for operations and security explained: “Four in 10 passengers don’t even realise it’s an expectation to leave their shit behind.”

Careen added that he would be in favour of fining people who flout the regulation if it were possible, saying it is “most important to leave hand baggage behind. We need to drive the message home.” He is not wrong. Research also shows only about 30% of people absorb safety information films, and extraordinarily, about one-in-five people told about others who stop for belongings in emergencies, said they would do the same.

Luckily, the need for a full plane evacuation is a rare event in aviation, occurring only an estimated 30 times per year. But footage captured during recent emergencies on planes, including during increasingly frequent suspected fires caused by battery-powered devices, has caused lively debate online, with commenters pointing out the number of people filming or disobeying standard evacuation procedures. It is perhaps ironic that, without the viral footage from people who stopped to film on their phones, those same online debates might not be happening.

The IATA campaign urges air passengers to obey crew instructions, not record or photograph, and to keep calm while evacuating as quickly as possible. It also said that instead of stopping to grab items, people should plan ahead by keeping vital belongings such as a passport, money, and any medications securely with them on flights before take-off and landing.