Rapid, orderly exit of an aircraft’s occupants through the emergency exits, often by escape slide, when staying on board is more dangerous.
What it is
It is normally ordered by the captain, although cabin crew may initiate it themselves in the face of an obvious and serious hazard such as fire. If the risk is lower, a precautionary disembarkation using steps may be chosen instead, which is slower but avoids the minor injuries that slides sometimes cause.
To be certified, a type must show that its maximum number of occupants can get out within 90 seconds using only half of the exits and in darkness. In the Airbus A380 test, more than 850 people left through half of the doors in under 90 seconds. Slides that deploy and inflate automatically when an armed door is opened, floor lighting that leads to the exits and cabin crew trained to direct an evacuation with short, assertive commands all help.
This is why the pre-departure briefing matters: locate the nearest exit, adopt the brace position if instructed, and leave hand baggage behind, because retrieving it slows everyone down.
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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Evacuation. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/evacuation
MLA
“Evacuation.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/evacuation. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.
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Vuelopedia. “Evacuation.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/evacuation.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Evacuation. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/evacuation (Accessed: 16 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_evacuation,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Evacuation}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-09},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/evacuation},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/evacuation}},
urldate = {2026-10-16},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/evacuation |title=Evacuation |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}