Flight crews and travelers are increasingly concerned with the question of Cabin fume events, amid growing attention to a particular aspect of the air pumped into planes. Air travelers breathe a combination of recycled cabin air and outside fresh air that has been compressed by the aircraft’s engines—known as “bleed air.” But when the system malfunctions, chemical contaminants can occasionally end up circulating through the airplane, creating a so-called "fume event".Airline companies and jet manufacturers say that fume events are rare, and that when they do occur, air quality still exceeds safety standards. But unions representing pilots and flight attendants say the chemicals entering the aircraft cabin can endanger the health of flight crews and passengers.
Some unions have begun warning their members of potential respiratory and neurological dangers. At least two lawsuits have been filed in the U.S. by passengers and airline workers claiming contaminated cabin air made them sick. The US Federal Aviation Administration and other regulators around the world are seeking to determine what chemicals might be introduced, and what the health effects might be, when compressed engine air becomes contaminated with residues of engine oil, hydraulic fluid or other substances.
Note EU-Digest: Internal reports at Lufthansa revealed that two of its Airbus A340-600 flights to the USA also had suffered contaminated cabin air that made the pilots and cabin crew unwell. On one, the flight-crew had to put on oxygen masks to land the aircraft safely. In Britain a study on 18 pilots carried out by Peter Julu, a consultant neurophysiologist, has found fresh links between fume contamination and chronic medical problems. American research on 26 pilots discovered organo-phosphates in their blood and fatty tissue.
Complaints from passengers and pilots have included nausea and dizziness both during and after air travel. Unfortunately the extend of the problem is still a mystery, given that airline companies, because of the high cost required to dismantle an engine in order to inspect and repair possible leaking seals, seem to have been reluctant to provide more clarity on this issue. A British Government's committee on toxicity now believes that passengers on one in 2,000 flights could be exposed to toxins in cabin air resulting in possible neurological damage.
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