Union calls for inquiry after BA flight fills with smoke
Trade union Unite is calling for a public inquiry into toxic cabin air and fume events on board aircraft after a British Airways’ flight from London to Valencia filled with smoke on Monday.
Unite claimed that the same aircraft involved in Monday’s incident suffered previous ‘fume events’ in December last year and in June this year, leading to the aircraft being temporarily grounded.
Unite referred to a petition on Change.org, which claimed that the Airbus A321 involved in Monday’s incident had problems on flights from Heathrow to Beirut and Heathrow to Newcastle last December, and from Heathrow to Glasgow and from Heathrow to Madrid in June.
On June 8, a first officer due to fly the aircraft from Heathrow to Madrid allegedly removed herself from the flight due to a smell making her feel ill and the aircraft was grounded for a second time, according to the petition.
Calling on airlines to use ‘safer’ oil to lubricate engines and to fit cabin air filters onboard aircraft, Unite said analysis of industry sources suggests there were over 40 ‘fume events’ in June this year.
The union is currently supporting 51 court actions against five UK airlines, citing independent expert evidence that claims ‘air in most commercial airline cabins cause irreversible neurological damage and chronic illness among susceptible individuals’.
The 51 court cases involve pilots and cabin crew working for easyJet, British Airways, Thomas Cook, Jet2 and Virgin Atlantic who claim that medical evidence shows that long-term exposure to cabin air or to high dose ‘fume events’ can cause chronic ill health and life-threatening conditions.
However, Unite said the court cases had been delayed until 2021 ‘by the UK justice system.
Unite assistant general secretary for legal affairs Howard Beckett said: "This latest fume event is deeply alarming. British Airways has some serious questions to answer regarding the safety of the aircraft, in addition to providing health and safety guarantees for our cabin crew members.
"Far too often fume events like these go unreported and are brushed under the carpet by the airline industry. This latest fume event only came to light because members of the media were on board the flight.
"The airline industry cannot continue to hide from the issue of toxic cabin air whilst placing the health and safety of aircrew at risk.
"Independent expert evidence concludes that air on board jet planes can contain a toxic mix of chemicals and compounds that potentially damage the nervous system and may lead to chronic irreversible health problems in susceptible individuals.
"We need a public inquiry into the extent of fume events and toxic cabin air. The airline industry must start to take responsibility and clean up the cabin air on jet planes.
"We would urge anyone involved in a fume event to log it on our fume event register."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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