The Unite union has announced that it is backing 51 lawsuits against five UK airlines over what pilots and crew are calling “toxic cabin air”.
The court actions against Easyjet, British Airways, Thomas Cook, Jet2 and Virgin Atlantic were launched after “independent expert evidence” found the air in most commercial airline cabins “can cause irreversible neurological damage and chronic illness among susceptible individuals”.
The evidence used to launch the cases allegedly reveals that fumes from jet engines containing a mix of toxic compounds bleed into the air used to pressurise cabins.
Unite is supporting claims that long-term exposure to cabin air or “high-dose fume events” can lead to pilots and cabin crew developing “life-threatening conditions”. The union is calling for an inquiry into cabin air, for airlines to use “safer” oil in their engines and for filters to be fitted into cabin air systems.
The lawsuits do not apply to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner because air is not drawn in via the engine.
Howard Beckett, assistant general secretary for legal services at Unite, commented: “The airline industry cannot continue to hide from the issue of toxic cabin air whilst placing the health and safety of aircrew at risk. The evidence begs the question how many more must be put at risk before the airline industry cleans its act up?
“Unite will use every avenue, including calling for a public inquiry and pursuing legal action, to get the airline industry to take responsibility and clean up the cabin air on jet planes... It may result in additional financial cost to industry, but that cost bears no resemblance to the value of cabin crew health and safety.”
The airlines involved in the court cases have said previous studies found no proof that exposure to cabin air causes long-term illness. Research by the European Aviation Safety Agency, which regulates the airline industry, concluded that the air quality on board aircraft is “similar or better than that observed in normal indoor environments”.
Forty-one of the cases are against BA, which said: “We would never operate an aircraft if we believed it posed a health or safety risk to our customers or crew.”
Easyjet added: “Easyjet takes any health concerns raised by its crew seriously. However, aviation regulators and manufacturers around the world have looked at this issue and found no proof that long-term health issues arise from cabin air quality.”
While the carrier admitted “fume events” can occur, it said research shows this could cause “minor acute symptoms”, but no lasting effects.
The cases could take months to go to court.