Season 06 Episode 15: Turbulence on the ground

WARNING: we discuss a passenger fatality - listener discretion advised.

Thank you to subscriber, Grace Kennedy, for suggesting this topic. Grace described her experience in the airport arrivals lounge when passengers headed down an escalator to collect their luggage. The passenger congestion was significant, causing a pile up so severe that this led to people back pedalling on the escalator, attempting to walk backward to return to the floor above.

“Airports are busy, and this would not be the first time to consider cranky travellers,” remarks Alan. Trajce talks about the themes of crowd control, egress, and the escalator pile on. Sara reflects on the human behavioural aspects of rushing because of a need to compete and win, fulfilling the need for status, and the complex chain of responsibilities in airport management. Trajce asks, “Who owns the problem?” while Sara continues to discuss airport design. Trajce references a story of a death of a passenger who died from natural causes but challenged the work activities.