IATA launches “Save a Life, Not a Bag” campaign: during aircraft evacuation, bags must stay behind passengers
The International Air Transport Association IATA launched the global safety campaign “Save a Life, Not a Bag” on 8 June 2026, reminding passengers of one of the most important rules in an emergency aircraft evacuation: cabin baggage, bags, suitcases, personal items and mobile phones must not be taken when leaving the cabin. According to IATA’s announcement from Rio de Janeiro, the campaign targets the dangerous habit of some passengers who, despite crew instructions, stop to retrieve items from overhead bins or record the evacuation. Such behaviour, the association states, can block aisles and exits, slow the movement of other passengers, damage evacuation slides and directly endanger lives. IATA summarises the message in the rule that during an evacuation passengers should listen to the crew, leave all items behind and move as quickly as possible toward the nearest usable exit. The campaign is also supported by aviation safety regulators, including the European Union Aviation Safety Agency EASA and the United States Federal Aviation Administration FAA.
Why a few seconds can change the outcome of an evacuation
In an emergency aircraft evacuation, time is not an abstract category, but a key safety factor. According to IATA, passengers who stop to retrieve a bag or personal belongings slow down not only themselves but also everyone behind them in the narrow cabin space. In safety alert SAFO 25003 to operators, the FAA stated that passengers’ attempts to take carry-on baggage can significantly interfere with evacuation procedures and increase the possibility of injuries or fatalities. The same document warns that baggage can create congestion in aisles and at exits, increase the risk of trips and falls, damage evacuation slides and extend the time needed to leave the aircraft in circumstances involving smoke, fire or structural damage. The FAA also emphasises that any delay caused by retrieving baggage can significantly affect survival chances when conditions are rapidly deteriorating. That is also why the campaign message does not concern only an individual passenger, but the safety of everyone in the cabin.
According to IATA Director General Willie Walsh, taking bags during an evacuation is not a minor offence or a harmless mistake. In the campaign announcement, Walsh said that even one bag is enough to affect the safe evacuation of everyone on the aircraft. In such situations, the crew is trained to give short and direct instructions, and passengers must follow them without debate or delay. IATA emphasises that critical losses of time often occur precisely at the overhead bins, where a passenger must stand up, open the bin, pull out baggage and only then join the movement toward the exit. In the confined cabin space and under stress, such a procedure can stop an entire line of passengers, especially if visibility is reduced or if people are trying to move toward the same exit.
The rules are simple, but some passengers do not follow them
As part of the campaign preparations, IATA commissioned research among recent passengers in the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore. According to the results published by the association, 80 percent of respondents said they knew what to do in an emergency evacuation, but only 61 percent answered correctly that all personal belongings should be left behind and that they should immediately leave the aircraft. The research also showed that 33 percent of respondents had seen reports of passengers taking baggage during evacuation, and among them 22 percent said they would probably behave in the same way themselves. IATA points out that many passengers overestimate the time allowed for evacuation: only 18 percent of respondents knew that evacuation procedures are designed around a safety benchmark of 90 seconds, while 38 percent believed the procedure could take three minutes or longer. One in ten respondents admitted that they might still take baggage or follow others who do so, even if they were told not to.
The research data explain why the campaign does not remain only at the general message “listen to the crew”. IATA states that 60 percent of respondents say they would be less likely to take baggage if they already had the most essential small items, such as a passport, money or medicine, secured on their person. For that reason, the campaign advises passengers to think in advance before take-off and landing about what is truly essential and to keep such smaller items on their person, not in a bag in the overhead bin. This does not mean that items should be reached for during evacuation, but that the habit of preparation should be created before an emergency situation occurs. According to IATA, the message was also developed with input from human behaviour experts so that it would be simple, memorable and direct enough for passengers in stressful circumstances.
What passengers should do when the crew orders an evacuation
In the campaign, IATA highlights six safety behaviours that every passenger should remember before a flight. These rules are not a replacement for the instructions of cabin crew, but their summary for a situation in which decisions are made in seconds. EASA also emphasises in its guidance that the first task of passengers is to listen to cabin crew, pay attention to the safety demonstration and read the safety card because the layout of exits and equipment is not the same on all aircraft. The European agency specifically warns that baggage should be left behind because attempting to save belongings makes it harder for both the passenger carrying the bag and those behind that passenger to exit. In a real evacuation, according to EASA, passengers may be in shock, with children, elderly or less mobile, so disciplined and rapid movement is even more important than in the controlled conditions of drills.
- Immediately listen to and follow crew instructions.
- Leave all cabin baggage and personal belongings behind.
- Do not record or photograph the evacuation.
- Keep aisles and exits clear.
- Do not carry bags onto evacuation slides.
- Before take-off and landing, secure the most essential small items on your person, for example medicines or travel documents.
In its safety alert, the FAA recommended that air carriers review evacuation procedures, training, safety announcements and crew commands in order to address non-compliance with instructions more clearly, especially regarding the taking of carry-on baggage. The recommendations include standardised and brief messages to passengers, a clear instruction that all bags and personal belongings are to be left behind without exception, more effective information for passengers in exit rows and visual content in terminals and boarding areas. The FAA also suggests the use of universally understandable symbols or pictograms so that the message can be conveyed across language barriers. The document particularly highlights collective responsibility: the idea that everyone leaves bags behind should become expected and normal behaviour in an evacuation. This is important because in crisis situations people often orient themselves according to the actions of other passengers, so one wrong behaviour can trigger a new delay.
The 90-second safety standard is not a guarantee without passenger cooperation
In discussions about evacuations, the 90-second safety benchmark is often mentioned. Under the current United States regulation 14 CFR 25.803, for aircraft with more than 44 passenger seats it must be shown that the maximum permitted number of passengers and the required crew can be evacuated from the aircraft to the ground under simulated emergency conditions within 90 seconds. In its explanation of evacuation procedures, EASA states that during certification of large aircraft it is checked whether the aircraft can be completely evacuated in 90 seconds or less, using only half of the exits. The agency also warns that such tests are conducted under simulated and controlled conditions, with passengers who are briefed and physically capable, while a real accident may include panic, smoke, injured people, children, elderly passengers or limited visibility. Therefore, 90 seconds is not a comfortable reserve, but a very demanding safety objective that assumes a rapid reaction by everyone in the cabin.
Florian Guillermet, Executive Director of EASA, said in IATA’s announcement that rapid evacuation in an emergency saves lives. According to him, aircraft are certified according to strict evacuation standards, and crews are extensively trained for emergency situations so that every passenger has the best possible chance of survival. However, Guillermet stressed that in a real event this system can function only if passengers do their part: follow crew instructions, leave all baggage behind and move quickly toward the nearest usable exit. A similar message was given by FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, who warned that the FAA is recording an increasing number of passengers who do not follow crew instructions during emergency situations. Bedford emphasised that in such moments compliance with instructions is crucial and that passengers must act quickly, without hesitation and without personal belongings.
Mobile phones and recording have become an additional safety problem
The “Save a Life, Not a Bag” campaign does not warn only about bags, but also about recording and photographing during evacuation. IATA states that the campaign is being launched after a growing number of cases in which passengers stopped during evacuation to take baggage or to photograph and record the event, with evidence of such behaviour often visible in videos published online. Recording may seem less dangerous than pulling out a suitcase, but in practice it also creates a delay, distracts attention and can interfere with the execution of crew commands. In a cabin where every person must immediately stand up, move and leave the aircraft, even a brief stop for a mobile phone can reduce the flow through the aisle. That is why IATA includes in the campaign’s core messages an explicit instruction not to record or photograph during evacuation.
A particular risk arises when a passenger simultaneously tries to carry a child and a bag or several personal items. In its announcement, IATA warns that cases have been recorded in which passengers carry both infants and baggage during evacuation, thereby endangering their own stability and the safety of others at a critical moment. Carry-on baggage on an evacuation slide can injure other passengers, damage equipment or puncture the slide, which must remain usable for everyone exiting after the first evacuated persons. Bags can catch on seats, partitions or equipment, and a passenger carrying them no longer has free hands to hold on, protect their head or help a child. That is precisely why aviation safety messages increasingly emphasise that personal belongings are not part of evacuation.
Responsibility is shared between the industry, the crew and passengers
IATA announces that the campaign’s digital materials will be available for use in the communications of air carriers, industry partners, the media and other participants in air transport. The materials include clear messages that can be displayed on websites, in applications, on social networks and in other channels through which passengers are informed before a flight. In its recommendations to operators, the FAA moved in the same direction and stated that air carriers should also consider visual messages in terminals and boarding areas. The goal is not to create fear of flying, but to adopt a simple habit that in rare but serious situations can be decisive. Air transport remains an exceptionally regulated safety system, but in an evacuation that system depends on passengers not turning personal baggage into an obstacle for others.
Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety and Security, said that most passengers know what to do in an accident, but that there is a significant knowledge gap among some passengers that could lead to catastrophic consequences. In his assessment, even one or two passengers who spend a few extra seconds gathering personal belongings can endanger lives. That is why IATA positions the campaign as a reminder of what is most important in an evacuation: surviving and enabling others to do the same. Baggage can be replaced, documents can be reissued, and lost items can be reported to the air carrier, but time lost in smoke, fire or panic cannot be recovered. The message “Save a Life, Not a Bag” is therefore intentionally direct: at the moment of aircraft evacuation, a life is saved, not a bag.
Sources:
- IATA – announcement on the launch of the “Save a Life, Not a Bag” campaign, statements by IATA, EASA and FAA, and results of the passenger survey (link)
- IATA – campaign page for passengers with rules for safe behaviour during evacuation (link)
- Federal Aviation Administration – safety alert SAFO 25003 on the risks of taking carry-on baggage during emergency evacuation (link)
- European Union Aviation Safety Agency – guidance on passenger behaviour and aircraft evacuation safety (link)
- eCFR – current text of provision 14 CFR 25.803 on aircraft evacuation under simulated emergency conditions (link)