The Comprehensibility of Airline Safety Card Pictorials

Abstract

Airline safety cards are an integral component of passenger safety information. Brochures depict compulsory safety and emergency information such as how to adjust a seatbelt and how to exit a plane in an emergency. Few cards, however, have been developed that consider whether or not passengers actually understand the information contained on the cards. A study is reported that examined the efficacy of airline safety cards to convey the meanings of safety and emergency information. One-hundred and thirteen participants were given a questionnaire that tested the comprehension of 36 airline pictorials selected from 50 airline safety cards. Comprehension for most of the pictorial information was uniformly low. Twelve met the International Organisation of Standards (ISO) comprehension standard. An analysis of ‘emergency floor lighting’ and ‘do not use electronics’ is given.

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