Air passengers urged to leave bags behind during evacuations in new IATA campaign

“Every second matters. Even taking one bag can affect the safe evacuation of everyone onboard,” Mr Walsh said.

“Save a Life, Not a Bag is a message that passengers need to understand and act upon,” he added.

To support the campaign, IATA commissioned a survey of recent air travellers in Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

The survey found that while 80 per cent of respondents believed they knew what to do during an emergency evacuation, only 61 per cent correctly identified that they should leave all personal belongings behind.

One third of those surveyed said they had seen reports of passengers taking baggage with them during evacuations. Among this group, 22 per cent said they would be likely to do the same.

The findings also showed that many passengers overestimate how long an evacuation should take. Only 18 per cent were aware that aircraft evacuation procedures are designed around a 90-second safety benchmark, while 38 per cent believed an evacuation could take three minutes or longer.

Despite being instructed not to, one in 10 respondents admitted they might still take baggage with them during an evacuation, or follow other passengers who do so, even when instructed not to.

The survey also found that 60 per cent of respondents said they would be less likely to take baggage during an evacuation if essential items were already secured on their person.