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Assume you are taking an airline flight, and the cabin starts filling up with smoke. The pilots divert the plane to the nearest suitable airport, and the flight attendants pop the doors and send you down the slides as soon as the airplane comes to a stop and the engines shut down. However, by the time firefighters can check the interior of the aircraft out, no smoke, fumes, or heat sources can be found.

How would the airline get your carryon/hand luggage back to you under the circumstances, and when should you expect it back? I presume that this varies from airline to airline, but representative answers are appreciated.

JoErNanO
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1 Answers1

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While it varies from airline to airline, the likely scenario would be that airline employees or an airport contractor would send staff onboard to retrieve the items in the overhead bins and seatback pockets once they have been given the OK to enter. They would tag everything they find based on bin number or seat number, so as to have an idea of who is belongs to. Then take it somewhere for distribution to the awaiting passengers.

How long the passengers have to wait depends on the issue that caused the evacuation and how it takes to determine it is safe to unload the baggage.