Short answer. Getting off is limited by much the same things as getting on: a narrow aisle and bags in the overhead bins. In the row-by-row pattern modelled here, only one row collects bags at a time. In this simulator, letting passengers stand and collect bags wherever there was room emptied a full A320 in about 8 and a half minutes, compared with about 13 and a half minutes row by row.
What slows the exit
When the seatbelt sign goes off, many passengers want to stand. On a single-aisle aircraft, there is room in the aisle for about one person per row. Passengers have to stand, reach into the bin, lift their bags down and step towards the door. While someone does that, the people behind them cannot pass.
There is also a limit at the door itself. Model assumption: In this model, a door lets one passenger through every two to three seconds, which caps the flow at around 25 people a minute per door, however well the cabin is organised.
The deplaning patterns compared
Simulator result: The simulator results below are for an easyJet A320, completely full (186 passengers), with typical cabin luggage and the forward door only. Times are the median of eight seeded runs (seeds 20260801 to 20260808).
| Pattern | How it works | Time to empty |
|---|---|---|
| Free for all | Everyone stands when they can; aisle seats step out first because they physically can | 8:27 |
| Aisle seats first | All aisle seats leave, then middles, then windows | 8:28 |
| Alternate rows | Every other row stands and collects bags, then the rows in between | 8:33 |
| Back rows first | The rows furthest from the door leave first | 12:55 |
| Row by row | Each row waits until the row ahead has cleared | 13:39 |
Model assumption: In the row-by-row pattern of this model, a row stands only once the row in front has left. That keeps the aisle calm but means only one row collects bags at a time. In the free-for-all, passengers in several rows collect bags at once and step into the aisle as gaps open.
Luggage makes the gap bigger
Simulator result: On a full Ryanair 737-800 (189 passengers), the simulator's row-by-row exit took 10:10 with light luggage and 20:35 with heavy luggage. Free for all took 8:34 and 9:48 with the same luggage settings. With heavy bags, the row-by-row exit took more than twice as long because each row retrieved its bags in turn rather than alongside other rows.
So should everyone just stand up?
Not quite. The free-for-all in the model assumes people stand and retrieve bags where there is space, then move towards the door without pushing past one another. Real cabins also have passengers with connections, children, reduced mobility and bags stored rows away from their seats, which the model treats simply. The useful lesson from these results is narrower: in the simulator, exits are faster when several rows can collect bags at the same time, and slower when each row waits for the previous one to leave completely.
Frequently asked questions
Why is deplaning faster than boarding?
Everybody is already in the cabin and moving the same way, and nobody has to squeeze past a seated neighbour to reach their seat. Simulator result: In this model, a full A320 emptied in about 8 to 14 minutes depending on the pattern, compared with about 8 to 25 minutes to board a nearly full one, depending on the boarding method.
Is row-by-row deplaning the fastest?
Simulator result: Not in this simulator. Row by row was the slowest of the patterns tested on a full A320 because only one row collected bags at a time.
Would deplaning by aisle seat first be faster?
Simulator result: In the model, it was about as fast as a free-for-all, and nobody stands up while a seatmate is still between them and the aisle. It is also a simple pattern to explain.
Updated 2026-09-25. Figures labelled simulator result are outputs of this site's model at the settings stated, not airline measurements. What the model leaves out.