Safety and Health Alert: The Air Up There - When Plane Travel Makes You Sick

Chris Witkowski, AFA-CWA Director of Air Safety, Health and Security

Ever smelled dirty socks on a flight? Most people would look around for the source of the offending odor and then daydream about lecturing their fellow passenger on the virtues of personal hygiene. Flight attendants know that this smell also can indicate a toxic soup of heated oil in the aircraft air supply. This happens infrequently but persistently and can make people truly sick.

Think it's a hazard only for flight attendants, and that the airlines are taking care of the passengers? Wrong. Incredibly, airlines have no real obligation to prevent air supply contamination. Since the late 1980s, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA has been lobbying for protections that benefit crew and passengers alike.

When oil enters the air supply system, often due to leaky engine oil seals, many people report an odor and some observe a visible smoke or mist in the cabin. Acute symptoms include severe headache, dizziness, disorientation, breathing difficulties, stomach cramping, and nausea. One of the toxins causes even more serious symptoms like long-lasting memory and balance problems, but these may not fully develop for weeks, making it difficult to prove that aircraft engine oil is to blame.

If you smell something suspicious on a plane, notify a flight attendant and document everything. Promptly file a report with the airline and with AFA-CWA. Download practical information for your doctor from our website. Keep a journal of any symptoms that develop. Take photos of any visible symptoms like rash or swelling. Thorough documentation helps AFA-CWA track the extent of the problem and seek solutions.

Dirty socks may just be dirty socks but passengers and crew should be aware of the alternative explanation. We all share the air up there, and we are proud that the protections and standards we advocate for flight attendant members of CWA benefit us all.

To learn more, see AFA-CWA's Air Safety, Health and Security webpage, or call (206) 932-6237.