[LuganoPirate]

Following on from David, and on this particular flight, most of the people on that flight will be people who perhaps only fly once every 2 years as they return to their work. I cannot recall emphasis being made in the safety demo about leaving belongings behind, so they likely had no clue. Not a justification but just some food for thought!

[wowzimmer]

Other posters have made some very good points about the size of carry on bags and quantity of carry on bags. However, I think we also need to look at the circumstances in isolation in this case. Emirates has a generous 30kg checked luggage allowance for economy passengers. It is unlikely that everyone in the group shown within the evacuation video were just travelling with hand luggage. Secondly, you can clearly hear someone worrying about the whereabouts of their laptop computer. Not something that passengers ordinarily put in their checked luggage either. As this article from Bloomberg states the most common reasons for grabbing hand luggage during an evacuation are to obtain “money, wallets and credit cards followed by work materials, keys and medication”. So, whilst limiting the size, weight and amount of hand luggage taken onboard would undoubtedly help I believe this would not be a ‘fix all’ to a problem that has been seen across carriers around the world. A more rigorous legislative approach may be required in the same way that other measures have been taken to make flying the safest mode of transport. In my opinion this could include limiting hand luggage, making the taking of hand luggage during an evacuation a criminal offence, more stringent warnings during safety demonstration and locked hat racks during take off and landing. I would also consider more radical measures that could be seen as harming the passenger experience. For example, a requirement that passengers put said valuables (money, wallet, passport, boarding pass and vital medication) in a very small bag (possibly conforming to an industry standard provided by the airline) and placed into the seat pocket during takeoff and landing. In the event of an emergency passengers can grab and wear this bag around their neck in the event of an evacuation. Most airlines aren’t in the business of advertising what would happen in an emergency when they are trying to sell a dream flight – However, perhaps they need to openly say “Don’t worry about your laptop – we’ll replace it. Don’t worry about your money – if there is an emergency we’ll give you plenty. Don’t worry about your keys – we will be putting you up in a five star hotel”. In other words, we (the airline) can replace everything apart from your life.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Ahmad

[SimonS1]

[quote quote=723007]Following on from David, and on this particular flight, most of the people on that flight will be people who perhaps only fly once every 2 years as they return to their work. I cannot recall emphasis being made in the safety demo about leaving belongings behind, so they likely had no clue. Not a justification but just some food for thought!

[/quote]

True LP. I travelled back the following morning from Bangalore and noted:

1. It was mentioned in the safety briefing but only as a passing comment.

2. The safety briefing was in English/Arabic, there were migrant workers on the flight that spoke little of either.

3. Anyone who flies Emirates will know that the time around departure features a barrage of announcements, the safety briefing, how to use the ICE system etc, hello from flight deck, crew announcements about doors etc it all drags on to the point where few people are listening.

4. There were several passengers presumably returning from a trip home who used up every ounce of baggage allowance and some bags in the cabin were ridiculously big (had to go sideways in locker or be taken into business class).

This could all be tackled in a pragmatic way. In fact EK has had remarkably few incidents in 30+ years with no passenger fatalities so I can’t see too much need for knee jerk reactions and elaborate (non) fixes like locked lockers etc.

[MartynSinclair]

expanding on David’s safety briefing comments, other reasons why passengers don’t listen, is they are more using their mobiles or have head phones on.

I flew yesterday on a BA liveried aircraft / BA uniformed crew, flight operated by Eastern. The safety announcement, did mention headphones off and window shades open and the crew enforced this – well done.

So if there was to be a complete, all round safety briefing, what are the key points and how should they be conveyed. For me and in no particular order;

1. ensure seat belts are on
2. where the life vest is (and I always reach for it to make sure its there
3. Emergency exits and doors
4. cabin crew announce and enforce passengers remove earplugs put papers down
5. oxygen masks
6. the authority of the crew in terms of adhering to crew instructions
7. actions to be taken in in the event of an emergency
8. passengers warned not to reach for any luggage in the event of an emergency. (I would doubt this could be made a criminal offence, unless our American friends support this, which they will not!!)
8. floor area must be kept clear for take off and landing
9. warnings about not smoking and effects of alcohol
10. window shades should be open for take off and landing (can anyone confirm Emirates policy on this as I am sure open blinds would have assisted for situational awareness over closed blinds.

How best to convey these messages. I do think if the airlines had a generic format it would help and the presentation should cut all padding be professional and last no longer than 90 – 120 seconds.

As has often been said before, the briefing should be played on screens in the departure lounge / or key points displayed on large notices, such as earphones should be removed on boarding until after the safety announcement.

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Poshgirl58

[SimaHir]

I don’t see anyone having mentioned that in the final 2 seconds of the BBC clip it appears that the slide of the door in front seems to have misfired and failed to open – it looks a mangled mess which is very worrying, unless it was damaged by the heat. Are they heat resistant?

[Carajillo2Sugar]

It’s been well documented that many passengers have problems undoing their seat-belt in an emergency situation, so passing a law that makes it a criminal offence to collect personal belongings is really not going to make much of a difference as to how people behave in the event of an emergency evacuation.

Until any of us are in the same situation, how do we know just how we’ll react?

[AMcWhirter]

Not sure about today’s situation but yesterday, according to local media, there were still 200 cancelled flights at DXB.

It’s reported that DXB will not be back to “normal” until Saturday.

http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/emergencies/nearly-200-flights-cancelled-at-dubai-international-1.1873994

[superchris]

My view was that whether people lug or not is not in my control, but in a ten abreast aircraft there are 11% more people trying to get out of the exit either with or without luggage.

[alainboy56]

The problem is that once I get on an aircraft, I wish to relax and ‘switch off’, the one thing I do dislike, is the continuous hubbub of noise and announcements etc, and that is EXACTLY why I take a set of noise reducing headphones on board with me. I am not listening to music, I am just blocking out all the annoying noise around me
I know all the rules, and the instructions on how to put on a vest, even how to top it up with the mouthpiece, I do not need to listen to them attentively ad infinitum for the rest of my (traveling) life.

[SimonS1]

[quote quote=723135]
So if there was to be a complete, all round safety briefing, what are the key points and how should they be conveyed. For me and in no particular order;

1. ensure seat belts are on
2. where the life vest is (and I always reach for it to make sure its there
3. Emergency exits and doors
4. cabin crew announce and enforce passengers remove earplugs put papers down
5. oxygen masks
6. the authority of the crew in terms of adhering to crew instructions
7. actions to be taken in in the event of an emergency
8. passengers warned not to reach for any luggage in the event of an emergency. (I would doubt this could be made a criminal offence, unless our American friends support this, which they will not!!)
8. floor area must be kept clear for take off and landing
9. warnings about not smoking and effects of alcohol
10. window shades should be open for take off and landing (can anyone confirm Emirates policy on this as I am sure open blinds would have assisted for situational awareness over closed blinds.

How best to convey these messages. I do think if the airlines had a generic format it would help and the presentation should cut all padding be professional and last no longer than 90 – 120 seconds.

As has often been said before, the briefing should be played on screens in the departure lounge / or key points displayed on large notices, such as earphones should be removed on boarding until after the safety announcement.

[/quote]

Emirates policy is blinds open.

I think all the above are covered in the current briefing.

Not sure playing it in the departure lounge would really make much difference. People do wear headphones and read papers there too.

Finally IMHO the response should be proportionate and based on risk analysis. Not being complacent but no-one died in either the BA or Emirates incidents (whether 9 or 10 across), fatal accidents in 2014 were at an all time low and I’m not sure the industry needs to instigate disproportionate measures.

[FDOS_UK]

Qcick update, for anyone travelling to DXB.

DXB was still on single runway ops, yesterday.

My flight was cancelled and I was re-routed into DWC.

[Ktfarah]

Simeoncox. Excellent point and suggestion.

[Ahmad]

An interesting article I came across on locking overhead bins:-

http://bbc.in/2aGBUcY

Mostly agrees with my point of view. I appreciate that many on the forum who travel far more than I do differ on this. As I have been through only one evacuation and thankfully was in First so didn’t witness the scrum, thoughts on the subject from those who have been evacuated would be interesting and may even change my mind.

[Cashsuds]

This would be a good time for ALL airlines to review the policy of cabin luggage. In spite of limitations as to the size and weight of the hand carried luggage into the cabin, I am amazed how this is often abused!!
This will also speed up security checks as you can always spot the “luggers on” who try to take into the cabin all sorts of diverse products that may compromise our safety.

There is really no need to carry luggage into the cabin, if airlines allow 1 piece of luggage to be checked in and restrict carry on to 1 piece – a size no larger than a briefcase which should accommodate everything that one needs on board!!
I have had heavy luggage fall on me while passengers try to get their suitcase ( obviously heavy) onto the bins above, etc..

[FDOS_UK]

There is really no need to carry luggage into the cabin, if airlines allow 1 piece of luggage to be checked in and restrict carry on to 1 piece – a size no larger than a briefcase which should accommodate everything that one needs on board!!

Whilst passengers carrying their luggage off during evacuation is a risk, the statement above is totally unrealistic when considering this site is called ‘Business Traveller’.

Qatar Airways misconnected my checked baggage and denied me use of it for 6.5 hours on the Saturday just gone – no fault of mine, the aircraft was an hour late ex Manchester and a comfortable connection made very tight.

As this was a weekend day, the impact was minimal, but had I been arriving on a working day, I would have had two pieces of hand luggage (one with a set of business clothes sufficient for that day and a computer case) with me, removing that list.

Cashsuds does not appear to be a seasoned business traveller.

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