On 18th May 2010, a contaminated cabin air conference was held in Berlin, attended by representatives from major trade unions and other interested parties. The following press release was issued shortly afterwards:

Cabin air causing sickness! A threat to in-flight safety?

VC, ver.di and UFO e.V. call for an immediate, thorough and independent investigation.

The fresh air supplied to the cockpits and cabins of commercial aircraft passes through the engine compressors. This air may be contaminated by pollutants from the engine oil and its by-products, posing a threat to in-flight safety. The German courts are now seeing the first series of cases involving those who claim to have been affected by this issue.

On 18 May 2010, an occupational safety conference was held at the ver.di federal administration office in Berlin on the subject of “contaminated cabin air”. In attendance were representatives of the three German trade unions, the Berufsgenossenschaft (BG) Verkehr (Centre for Occupational Health and Safety in Transport), the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU), employee representatives of the German airlines, affected parties, scientists, lawyers and the press. The pilots’ trade union (VC), the German trade union ver.di and the Independent Flight Attendants’ Union (UFO) are collectively calling for politicians, supervising bodies, airline companies and the airline industry to immediately confront the issue.

The situation requires a comprehensive investigation into the dangers posed to the health of crews and passengers by fuel residue; the BFU should compile a thorough and detailed record of potential incidents; verification processes that are both independent and scientific must be developed and implemented, as should appropriate measures to prevent contamination, such as the fitting of filters and warning devices. The results must then be incorporated into the international standards relating to cabin air quality.

“If people’s health and safety are at risk, those responsible cannot and must not simply ignore the problem,” the trade unions unanimously stated. “It is a step in the right direction that Boeing’s new Dreamliner (B787) will no longer extract cabin air from the engines, but we call upon politicians, the authorities and the airline industry to implement immediate and comprehensive measures for existing aeroplanes in the interests of preventative healthcare for crews and passengers.”

German version on ver.di website