EFA Booklet: Stop discrimination against patients on board aircrafts!
For patients requiring oxygen on board planes, an ordinary flight can turn into a nightmare. The rules and prices regarding the use of oxygen on flights vary considerably between airlines in Europe, often leading to confusion for travellers. These common practices of certain European airlines make travelling by plane stressful, challenging or even prohibitively expensive for passengers suffering from respiratory diseases. EFA believes current measures are clearly discriminatory and pose an unnecessary burden on passengers requiring oxygen therapy.
To mark World COPD Day 2015 an updated version of the booklet “Enabling Air Travel with Oxygen in Europe” was prepared, in collaboration with European Lung Foundation (ELF).
EFA aims to foster a policy change that modifies general practice within airlines and airports for passengers travelling with oxygen in Europe. More specifically, this publication will serve:
- To guide oxygen-dependent passengers in managing their travel with oxygen therapy in Europe, detailing the steps they need to take and informing them about the norms regulating on-board oxygen use.
- To showcase the diversity of airline’s own policies, outlining the existing practices on oxygen service among European airlines.
- To flag the limitations in oxygen service which result from the gap in responsibility between airports and airlines.
The EFA Booklet
The booklet offers practical help for people who have to travel by plane with oxygen, while presenting patient testimonies and offering evidence of the challenges still faced by passengers with oxygen therapy needs. The booklet is available here.
Any inquiries related to the booklet can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To share your experience of travelling with oxygen please call the EFA office on +32 (0) 2 227 2713.