A significant rise in the number of UK airlines forced to make emergency diversions due to medical incidents, has led the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to publish a free guide for doctors.
In 2007, a total of 514 emergency calls led to 58 diversions ” a 26% increase since 2003 ” and the CAA says many are caused by passengers who are unfit to fly, or who have not made a medical condition known to their airline before travelling.
Increasingly, it is more elderly travellers in need of assistance ” 59% of medical diversions in 2006 were caused by passengers who were more than 50 years old.
While being particularly dangerous for the individual ” it takes time for aircraft to divert to suitable airports for assistance ” it also obviously causes huge disruption and cost to the airline and other passengers.
The Authority”s Aviation Health Unit (AHU) says medical professionals can help prevent such emergencies by carrying out thorough ”fitness to fly” assessments, and where appropriate, provide full details of a passenger”s medical condition to a patient”s airline.
”Passengers should declare to their physician that they intend to travel and the practitioner should be familiar with the aircraft environment and any potential interaction with the patient”s condition,” said AHU head, Dr Raymond Johnston. ”The aim in assessing fitness to fly is to allow the passenger to travel safely without any deterioration in their medical condition and to prevent the delay and distress caused by diversions.”
To help doctors make these assessments, the AHU has published a free guide available at caa.co.uk/fitnesstofly, covering issues including asthma, respiratory infections, diabetes, deep vein thrombosis and post-surgical issues. The top three causes of in-flight emergencies were neurological, cardio and respiratory conditions respectively.
”The majority of emergencies occur to those whose medical condition is unknown to the airline,” said Johnston. ”It”s therefore essential that the physician sends adequate details to the airline well in advance of the flight.”
An AHU spokesman admitted that ultimately it is the responsibility of the passenger to tell their doctor if they are to going to fly, but said there is a form filled out by the GP which the individual then gives their airline.
”The purpose of this guide is that medical professionals know what to look for ” it”s a resource for them to refer to,” he said. ”For post-surgery issues, a lot of people return from Europe where they have an operation, and there may be implications for the return leg.”