Using simulation to estimate evacuation times in large-size aircrafts: a case study with Simio

Abstract

After an emergency landing, it is essential to quickly evacuate an aircraft. Typically, a maximum limit of time is set, which does not depend on the number of passengers on board, the hour (day/night), or the number of inoperative emergency exits. In order to develop strategies and protocols for efficient evacuations, it is important to define all the characteristics of the aircraft, analyze multiple scenarios that may arise, conduct a comprehensive study of passengers' behavior, and consider external factors that may affect the evacuation time. Nowadays, there are flexible and powerful object-oriented simulation tools that enable the creation of realistic models, which are useful to assess evacuation strategies by studying different scenarios. In this context, this paper presents a model to analyze realistic scenarios for the evacuation of the Airbus 380, which must be done in less than 90 seconds.