Are passengers and air crew being exposed to harmful fumes on commercial flights? That’s what one group of aviation industry insiders told Airport Technology. The campaigners at the Global Cabin Air Quality Executive explained that “bleed air” circulation systems, which use jet engines to compress air that is then fed into cabins for air supply, are frequently contaminated by engine oils and hydraulic fluid fumes.
In the wake of the Paris Air Show and ahead of the release of a new documentary, the GCAQE held a press conference in London discussing the issue of unsafe air circulation in commercial jets. The body was formed in 2006 as a pressure group to give a unified voice to cabin crews, pilots, and passengers who it says are exposed to oil fumes on a daily basis.
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“Aircraft manufacturers know about these ‘fume events’ which are sourced to the ventilation air that gets bled off engine compressors on most aircraft,” GCAQE said. It claimed the Airbus A320 family has the highest “fume event” rate of all commercial passenger jets, while the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the only aircraft providing clean air, because its cabin air supply system is separate from its engines.
Airbus did not answer when Airport Technology gave an opportunity to respond to the claim.
The event hosted by the International Transport Workers Federation in London brought together pilot and crew representatives from Europe and North America to explain the issue and the action (and inaction) in the industry.
Tristan Loraine, the GCAQE spokesperson and a former Boeing 757 captain for British Airways, announced a documentary the group has produced on the topic, called ‘This is Your Captain Speaking’.
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By GlobalDataAccording to GCAQE, the problem is well-known among aviation professionals and the agencies that regulate the industry.
Tests have been carried out around the world, including ongoing tests in France, according to captain Eric Galvagno, Member of the Technical Committee for the French Pilot Union SNPL (Syndicate National des Pilots de Ligne). These have included interior swab tests that found additives found in engine oil and hydraulic oil inside commercial passenger plane cabins.
The panel pointed out the UK Air Accident Investigation Branch has made recommendations to both the FAA in the US and EASA in Europe, aimed at finding solutions to the problem, yet nothing has happened.
The recommendations included a requirement for all aircraft to be fitted with contaminated air warning systems. Similarly, the US National Research Council have called for specialised air filters.
GCAQE said these calls have been echoed by crew member unions, including those represented on the panel, including the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations and the Association of Flight Attendants.
While some on the panel, including captain Rondeau Flynn, a captain with American Airlines and Aeromedical Committee Chairman for the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations, argued that a lack of medical and academic knowledge has held the industry back, Judith Anderson, an industrial hygienist with the Association of Flight Attendants, explained that money was also a key aspect.
Airlines and aircraft manufacturers have not been required to spend money on filters or sensors, so they haven’t, Anderson said. “Fume events cost airlines millions,” she said, and therefore it is in both safety and commercial interest to stop them.
