The global airlines body Iata is launching a new safety campaign as it finds aircraft passengers are increasingly grabbing their bags and filming during emergency situations. Industry experts are suggesting that fines could and should be implemented for this behaviour, as it puts lives at risk.
Grabbing hand luggage doesn't sound all too time consuming, but then if everyone does it, it seriously affects how quickly people can get on and off the plane. Hand luggage can also damage slides and potentially cause injury as people try and evacuate an aircraft. Iata's new campaign will focus on saving a life, not a bag, as it urges people to leave their luggage behind.
Nick Careen, Iata's senior vice president for operations and security, told The Guardian that it wants to educate passengers first on the rule that they have to leave bags behind. "Four in 10 passengers don't even realise it's an expectation to leave their shit behind," Careen said.
Careen is also in favour of fines to help stop this trend. "Let's start with education - then we'll have to be a little bit more draconian, whether it be penalties or a lock on the overhead bin," he said.
Emergencies are rare on flights, so it's easy to see how some might forget the rule of leaving their luggage behind. However, with security at stake, it may be that forgetting this rule could soon cost a lot of money.