Call for global public inquiry over the health effects of toxic cabin air

The Hague should conduct an independent public inquiry into the health effects of breathing toxic cabin air on planes, says a group that claims to have the support of 2,500 “victims” of so-called aerotoxic syndrome.

The Aerotoxic Association is calling for the International Criminal Court in the Dutch city to hear evidence both for and against the theory that “bleed air” used to pressurise the cabins of passenger aircraft has been contaminated with chemicals such as engine oil and is hazardous to the health of crew, passengers and pilots.

“The problem of passengers and aircrew being exposed to toxic air has been known about since the Fifties, and there has been mounting evidence to support the causal link between exposure on aircraft and both acute and chronic ill health,” said John Hoyte, former pilot and founder of the organisation. “Despite this, the industry, the UK Government and regulatory bodies have yet to take any action to prevent this and to protect the public.”

Airlines and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have long denied a link between contaminated cabin air and aerotoxic syndrome, which has been blamed for the deaths of several pilots.

When air is contaminated on a plane it is known as a “fume event”, and can lead to passengers and even pilots becoming ill and the oxygen masks being deployed.

Last year, new research published in a World Health Organisation journal found that breathing toxic cabin air was linked to cancer, chronic fatigue and neurological problems.

At a glance | What is a fume event?

Despite long-standing concerns over bleed air - which has in part led airlines including EasyJet to trail new filtration systems and Boeing to build its new 787 Dreamliner aircraft using a different method of pressurisation - there has been little clarity over its potential ill-effects.

The Aerotoxic Association is asking the 2,500 victims it says it has been in contact with over the last 10 years to submit evidence of their experiences “marked for the attention of the International Criminal Court, The Hague, The Netherlands”.

The International Criminal Court at The Hague is most often used to rule on cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. It has only ever opened 11 investigations, including crimes committed in Darfur, Sudan and Mali.

John Hoyte, who flew as a commercial pilot for 30 years before retiring early due to ill health, said: “Despite decades of evidence and scientific research, air passengers are still put at risk every day from this preventable danger.

“In most areas of life we work on the precautionary principle to protect health and wellbeing, yet despite the huge amount of scientific evidence to show the effects of this preventable issue, the industry, UK Government and regulators have buried their heads in the sand. It is time for an Independent Public Inquiry to finally resolve this and to determine the necessary actions to protect the public.”

secrets of air travel

Mr Hoyte would like the inquiry to establish whether “the known technical solutions should be introduced in bleed air jet airlines”.

In 2015, Unite the union called for a public inquiry into the health effects of “fume events” and warned that there is “insufficient monitoring and research into aerotoxic syndrome”. It said it was planning legal action on behalf of a number of cabin crew of British airlines it said had been poisoned by contaminated cabin air.

In February of the same year, a coroner investigating the death of British Airways pilot Richard Westgate ruled that fumes circulating in planes posed “consequential damage” to the health of frequent fliers and crew.

The CAA response | What our aviation authority says about toxic cabin air

However, the CAA maintains that incidents of smoke or fumes on aircraft are rare and there is no evidence of negative long-term health effects.

Telegraph Travel first reported on the issue in 2008, detailing incidents in which contaminated cabin air had been referred to in reports filed by pilots. Dr Mackenzie Ross, a clinical neuropsychologist at University College London, estimated at the time that the problem was affecting up to 200,000 passengers each year.