§ Mr. FryTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what guidelines from the Civil Aviation Authority or his Department exist for the circulation rates of air in aircraft cabins necessary to safeguard the health of passengers and flight attendants; and if the CAA takes regular readings of circulation rates of aircraft in service;
(2) if the Civil Aviation Authority or his Department will initiate a review with the joint aviation authorities into cabin air quality issues and their effects on the health of passengers, flight attendants and crew;
(3) what assessment the Civil Aviation Authority has made of the dangers to the health of flight attendants and passengers of high levels of ozone in aircraft cabins encountered on some high altitude, high latitude flights; and what plans there are to introduce regulations to ensure ozone is kept within safe limits.
§ Mr. NorrisThe Civil Aviation Authority and the joint aviation authorities—JAA—have no plans at present to review aircraft cabin air quality issues. The airworthiness requirements addressing fresh air supply in civil air transport aircraft cabins have remained unchanged for some years and the CAA does not believe there is sufficient evidence to suggest that a further review is necessary.
The European—JAA—airworthiness regulations include requirements for minimum fresh air ventilation flows expressed in terms of fresh air quantity per minute per person. These minimum flows must be provided in the event of a failure in the air supply system; normal flow rates would be appreciably higher. The CAA does not consider it necessary to make regular checks of air flow rates in aircraft cabins.
517WThe JAA have reviewed the need for changes to aircraft systems to limit ozone levels and have concluded that no additional design features are required.