How many deaths have we had due to pax bringing hand luggage during an evacuation? What would be the cost of retrofitting all aircraft with central locking? Cost-benefit calculation anyone?
Get real guys. Focus on the big issues threatening air safety like working and employment conditions.
Quite true. But every time there is an evacuation, ppruners come out of the woodwork to whine on about how stupid pax. They make the same comments every time, every single time. They do it because it makes them feel superior. Its rather like the those who, in a crash thread, rush to be the first to post METARs.
Correct!
Unfortunately, a lot of the present generation aviation 'professionals' have downgraded themselves into "inside-the-box" thinkers who will blindly follow orders coming from middle/senior management.
"Button-pushers," "magenta-line-followers" and "minimum-rest-minimum-fuel-maximum-duty-pilots" is the result, and that's a MUCH bigger and more permanent danger to aviation safety than a handful of passengers taking their hand luggage during an evacuation.
Airlines are quite happy to throw out the baby with the bathwater by pushing more and more passengers into taking only hand luggage, so it's natural for passengers to take their 'vital' hand luggage even during an evacuation.
The governments and various 'authorities' up the ante by having turned our once free society into a virtual police state, making you feel completely vulnerable and 'naked' when stuck somewhere without your passport, wallet, some clean clothes/underwear and tablet PC/laptop.
Passengers take their hand luggage because they know they will be left to fend for themselves and completely at the mercy of governments/immigration authorities and airlines where you have to stand in long queues on order to get some lousy hotel/food/drink vouchers.