Study Finds Frequent Fliers, Cabin Crew and Pilots at Risk From Toxic Air on Planes

Two new studies confirm it: Science tells us – again – that airplane cabin air really isn’t good for us. In fact, it’s probably making a lot of people sick over time. (Sorry cabin crew, pilots, and frequent fliers.) The odds of pure air are not in your favor.

Two new studies recently published in Public Health Panorama, the World Health Organization’s journal, prove once again that airplane air is bad for our health. Cabin air is a combination of outside air and recirculated air. Aside from getting sick from breathing in the same air everyone else has been exhaling for hours on end, the outside air causes a few risks of its own. It’s called bleed air, meaning the engines are compressing it and it’s coming into the plane from outside. But the problem is that it’s not really filtered. So when there’s something called a “fume event,” toxic air is getting pumped right into the cabin without a filter. The contaminants can include engine air, deicing fluid, hydraulic fluid, or others.

The two studies investigated this issue. The first, which polled the health of 274 British pilots over time, showed staggering numbers.

“Almost 65 percent [of pilots] reported specific health effects, while 13 percent had died or experienced chronic ill health,” a press release said.

The second study tracked health concerns of cabin crew and passengers that were on flights having possible fume events.

“Symptoms ranging from in-flight incapacitation to impairment were reported in 93% of events, with the majority (73%) involving pilots and 33% including full or partial incapacitation of two pilots,” Public Health Panorama reported.

So far, the only resolution to this problem has been court cases, lawsuits initiated by passengers and crew, but no real forward motion has been made.

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