For people who rely on oxygen, like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, travelling can be challenging—but not necessarily for the reasons you might think. In most cases, the difficulty isn’t just medical. It’s the paperwork, unclear information, and complicated procedures that make travelling with oxygen unnecessarily overwhelming.
That’s why the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’ Associations (EFA) is working closely with its COPD Community on a new project, ‘Travel as a COPD patient in Europe’, designed to make travel easier, taking some of the burden around travelling off patients’ shoulders. The goal is to support respiratory patients in need of oxygen therapy, in understanding the procedure for travelling with medical oxygen bottles and concentrators, and get new oxygen at destination, so they can travel more safely, easily, and confidently.
The real barriers to travelling with oxygen therapy
Travelling with oxygen means more than just booking a trip. Patients and caregivers need to consult with their national healthcare system for advice and prescriptions, coordinate with oxygen providers, comply with airline or train regulations (because medical oxygen is a gas and has explosive potential), and ensure support is available throughout the trip and at destination to purchase and refill oxygen.
As for getting any other medical treatment outside of the place of residence, these steps can involve several organisations in different countries, language barriers, long waiting times - sometimes even months - and uncertain insurance coverage in case of problems. For many, it becomes too stressful to manage.
A collaborative, patient-centred approach to support patients travelling with oxygen therapy
To address these challenges, EFA is mobilising its COPD Community to offer structured, accessible support across Europe. The project has several key components:
- National Contact Points: EFA is setting up a network of trained experts within its member organisations across Europe. These National Contact Points can support patients before and during their journeys by offering guidance, sharing resources, and facilitating cross-border procedures.
- A comprehensive toolkit: We are developing a patient-friendly travel toolkit containing everything from key contacts and planning checklists to relevant online resources. Designed to be clear and easy to use, the European toolkit will help patients plan and manage their trips with greater confidence.
On June 19th , we held our first workshop with the COPD Community. The session was insightful and interactive, gathering perspectives on the current travel landscape and identifying patients’ needs across different countries. Together, we discussed the roles of National Contact Points and the structure of the toolkit and guidelines to best serve patients and caregivers.
Often, the information needed for travelling with oxygen exists—but it's outdated, fragmented, or not available in all languages. Travelling isn’t just about holidays. It means visiting family, attending important events, and making patients’ voices heard in decision-making spaces. Complex procedures shouldn’t stand in the way of these vital experiences.
Building on EFA’s previous work on enabling air travel with oxygen in Europe and the related advocacy work, this project is part of EFA’s larger COPD Beyond Care project, aimed at improving the quality of life of patients with COPD, as well as access to treatment, care, and adequate support. Earlier this year we launched the new report “Raising the bar for better standards of care for COPD in Europe”, which provides critical insights and recommendations on care gaps, prevention needs and the cost of managing this chronic respiratory disease. In the same line and in a context of rapidly changing travel market and regulations, the work on “Travel as a COPD patient in Europe” aims to ensure that travel becomes an option, not a burden, for COPD patients on oxygen.