It is calling for a public inquiry into contaminated cabin air and has recently opened a dedicated legal unit to record and process claims from its membership. They are working on the employees’ personal injury claims against British airlines in the civil courts, the BBC reported, although these are still at an early stage.

Safety reports

The BBC obtained safety reports submitted to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) that detailed more than 250 separate incidents of fumes or smoke inside a large passenger jet which was operated by a British airline between April 2014 and May 2015. The CAA says there is no evidence that chemicals are present in high enough concentrations to be harmful. In 2013, the Committee on Toxicity, an independent group of scientists, looked at the evidence of long-term health effects for the government. It could not establish a link between contaminated cabin air and ill health.

Coroner’s report

Campaigners and lawyers are closely monitoring a series of inquests that could affect the outcome of a much greater number of civil cases. In February, a report by the coroner in the inquest into the death of British Airways pilot Richard Westgate recognised that cabin fumes could affect health and called on the airline and the CAA to ‘take urgent action to prevent future deaths.’ Both organisations replied that the coroner had relied on ‘selective and contentious evidence’. British Airways said in a statement that: ‘We would not operate an aircraft if we believed it posed a health or safety risk to our customers or crew.’ Sources: BBC News; The Independent