Senators Call Part 121 Aircraft Evacuation Standards ‘Unrealistic’

The Emergency Vacating of Aircraft Cabin (EVAC) bill would compel the FAA to simulate more realistic scenarios, including passengers across a wider age range and physical abilities, and with carry-ons.

Michael Wildes

Thursday, December 08, 2022 at 04:07 PM ET

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Current rules say airlines must be able to evacuate passengers within 90 seconds. [Courtesy: Adobe Stock]

Key Takeaways:

U.S. Senators introduced the EVAC bill, requiring the FAA to establish new, more realistic commercial aircraft evacuation standards.
The bill mandates that future evacuation simulations include diverse passenger demographics (varying age, physical abilities) and carry-on bags, addressing concerns that current tests only use able-bodied individuals.
This legislative push is connected to ongoing debates about shrinking airline seat sizes and the perceived unrealistic nature of current FAA safety tests, which require full evacuation in 90 seconds.

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U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill Thursday that would require the FAA to publish new aircraft evacuation standards for Part 121 commercial aircraft, Reuters reported.

Senators Tammy Duckworth and Tammy Baldwin co-sponsored the Emergency Vacating of Aircraft Cabin (EVAC) bill that would require future FAA evacuation simulations to include more realistic scenarios, including passengers across a wider age range and physical abilities, and with carry-on bags.