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Our thanks to the charities the Pulmonary Hypertension Association UK (PHA_UK) and the British Lung Foundation for their help with this weeks report. PHA-UK's members conducted a secret shopper exercise with 71 airlines on the charges and procedures that otherwise 'fit to fly' passengers who require supplemental oxygen in-flight face. The full table of results can be found at www.phassociation.uk.com
This requirement for additional oxygen is increased further during air travel due to the reduced air pressure in aircraft cabins – the air pressure in an aircraft cabin is lower than the air pressure at ground level and is like being at high altitude on a mountain (ie 6,000 to 8,000 feet). At such high altitudes blood oxygen levels fall in everyone and some people may feel a little breathless. In most people this has no health effect but for those people who already have low blood oxygen levels because of a lung condition this additional reduction in oxygen can cause increased breathlessness and discomfort.
Topline Findings
· Two thirds of airlines would not allow our volunteer researchers to bring their own oxygen for use in- flight.
· Less than a quarter of airlines supply free supplemental oxygen.
· A quarter of airlines do not supply supplementary oxygen at all.
· Virtually every airline that provides supplemental oxygen to otherwise ‘fit to fly’ passengers and charges for it, levy’s a different fee with prices ranging from £50 to £500 per trip, just to breathe.
WHY DOES AIR TRAVEL AFFECT PEOPLE WITH LUNG CONDITIONS? Ninety thousand people in the UK currently need some form of supplemental oxygen due to lung conditions such as Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). People with such conditions are dependent on supplemental oxygen to improve delivery of oxygen and blood to the muscles and prolong life.
People who can walk 100 metres on the level without needing oxygen, at a steady pace without feeling breathless or needing to stop, are not likely to be troubled by the reduced pressure in aircraft cabins. Those people living with lung conditions who cannot do this will need to investigate the options available to them during air travel with the airline they are travelling with and will need to get a certification from their GP that they are fit to fly.
There is no evidence to suggest the length of flight causes any extra risk in people with lung conditions such as PH and COPD – obviously longer flights may carry health risks for anyone, because of the health effects of long periods sitting without much exercise, and therefore all long haul air travellers should move about every hour or so to exercise their legs and reduce the chance of blood clots in the legs.