Originally Posted by
Greg66
And the follow up: is the decision whether to deploy slides on one side or both sides made on an assessment of the emergency? I had always assumed that if they were used, they would all be used.
In a word, yes. If there is no apparent outside hazard, the crew member will always endeavour to open the door on the initiation of a slide evacuation. Outside hazards can be fire or obstacle such as ground equipment, in which case the door is not opened and pax redirected.