Effect of Aircraft-Cabin Altitude on Passenger Discomfort
Long flights are associated with passenger discomfort. This study, conducted in an altitude chamber equipped to resemble a commercial-aircraft cabin, examined symptoms and oxygen saturation during a 20-hour simulated flight. The frequency of reported discomfort increased with increasing altitude; th...
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Published in | The New England journal of medicine Vol. 357; no. 1; pp. 18 - 27 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Boston, MA
Massachusetts Medical Society
05.07.2007
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Long flights are associated with passenger discomfort. This study, conducted in an altitude chamber equipped to resemble a commercial-aircraft cabin, examined symptoms and oxygen saturation during a 20-hour simulated flight. The frequency of reported discomfort increased with increasing altitude; there was also a drop in arterial oxygen saturation of 4.4 percentage points at a simulated altitude of 8000 ft. There was less discomfort at simulated altitudes of 6000 ft or less.
This study examined symptoms and oxygen saturation during a 20-hour simulated flight. The frequency of reported discomfort increased with increasing altitude. There was less discomfort at simulated altitudes of 6000 ft or less.
A commonly encountered but generally unrecognized exposure to moderate altitude (6500 to 8000 ft [1981 to 2438 m]) occurs during commercial flight. Although the cabins of commercial aircraft are pressurized to protect occupants from the very low barometric pressures at flight altitudes, sea-level pressure (760 mm Hg) is not maintained. Instead, aircraft are designed to maintain cabin pressure at a level no lower than 565 mm Hg (equivalent to an altitude of 8000 ft) when the airplane is at its maximum operating altitude.
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Higher levels of pressurization decrease the energy available for other aircraft systems, reduce the operational lifetime of . . . |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0028-4793 1533-4406 |
DOI: | 10.1056/NEJMoa062770 |