Chaotic evacuation of American Airlines Flight 2045 shows urgent need for updated evacuation standards and minimum seat sizes

July 17, 2024

Media contact: National Consumers League – Melody Merin, melodym@nclnet.org, 202-207-2831

WASHINGTON, DC – The evacuation of American Airlines Flight 2045 on July 12 at the San Francisco International Airport appears to have taken significantly longer to complete than the federal standard of 90 seconds. While only minor injuries have been reported, delays in the evacuation created an unacceptable risk of major injuries or death for the passengers and crew on board.

Such chaotic scenes again highlight the urgent need for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to update its emergency evacuation standards to reflect the modern flying environment.

The lengthy American Airlines evacuation was not an anomaly; evacuations over the past decade have consistently exceeded the FAA’s 90-second standard. Evacuation standards were last updated in 2005 and over the intervening 19 years, the in-cabin environment has evolved substantially. Despite these changes, the FAA has rejected or failed to act on 27 recommendations from the FAA Emergency Evacuation Standards Advisory Rulemaking Committee or those of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s own Inspector General. 

As a result, the American Economic Liberties Project, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, FlyersRights, the National Consumers League, Travelers United, and U.S. PIRG are calling on the FAA to urgently address its antiquated safety regulations by:

Updating outdated evacuation standards. Current standards do not reflect the modern cabin environment and do not account for passengers of all ages and body types, record-high passenger load factors, the proliferation of personal electronic devices, the increased amount of carry-on baggage, or the cramped seating conditions of modern aircraft.

Establishing minimum passenger seat sizes. Despite receiving two mandates from Congress and over 26,100 public comments on the issue, the FAA still has not set minimum dimensions for airplane seats. The consistent shrinking of passenger seating has allowed carriers to increase the number of passengers in the aircraft without also increasing the number of exits. Additionally, the cramped seating poses a physical impediment to quick evacuation of the aircraft. 

“The FAA has the ability to reduce the risk of the chaos like what unfolded on Flight 2045,” said John Breyault, National Consumers League vice president of Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud. “Passenger safety and a profitable airline industry are not mutually exclusive. For too long, however, the agency has allowed the airline industry’s concerns about its bottom line to stand in the way of creating standards that lead to a safer cabin environment. That has to stop.”

“The FAA is long overdue in updating its emergency evacuation training and procedures,” said William J. McGee, senior fellow for Aviation & Travel at American Economic Liberties Project. “In recent years we’ve gotten very lucky, as numerous potentially deadly evacuations far exceeded the FAA’s own 90-second timeline. It’s time to rely on proven standards rather than luck.”

“This serves as another example of why the FAA must look at this issue with the importance it deserves,” said Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog director, U.S. PIRG. “The recent evacuation tests relied on ‘able-bodied adult subjects under 60,’ the FAA acknowledged in 2022. We all know this doesn’t reflect modern travel — planes filled with children, senior citizens, people with disabilities and people who are heavy. This issue must be prioritized before we have a tragedy.”

Emergency landings and emergency evacuations occur several hundred times annually often due to smoke or fire in the cabin. The latest incident showed confusion and panic after a fire erupted in the rear of the plane,” said FlyersRights President Paul Hudson. “Needed improvements were recommended unanimously by the FAA Emergency Evacuation Advisory Rulemaking Committee in 2020. But it is up to FAA Administrator Whitaker to take action, without further delay.”

“This terrifying event is a stark reminder to the FAA to move forward with updated, safer evacuation standards and seating dimensions that reflect current air travel conditions,” said Erin Witte, director of consumer protection at Consumer Federation of America. “We urge the FAA to take the opportunity provided by Congress in the Reauthorization Act to publicly commit to addressing these issues.”

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.