Groups to meet on air blood clots
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Airline executives, pilot unions, doctors and others in the flying industry will meet this week in Australia to discuss so-called “economy class syndrome,” a disease caused by blood vessel clots from sitting idly in a cramped condition for a long period.
Concern about deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, has grown recently as reports of passengers dying from clots right after long flights have mounted. A newspaper here reported Monday that new figures show 18 people have died in Australia from blood clots related to long-haul flights.
At the meeting Friday, a panel of medical experts will outline existing research on the link between long flights and DVT and discuss what further research is needed.
“There is so much anxiety in the public’s mind … but we really don’t know what the true situation is,” The Daily Telegraph quoted Eric Donaldson, a professor and meeting organizer, as saying. “This is a difficult problem and it’s going to take the whole industry to work out where we go from here.”
The Telegraph report cited figures compiled since 1992 by coroners’ offices across Australia. Coroners’ records show 14 of the victims of DVT died during their flight, at Sydney Airport on arrival or within two hours of landing.
DVT involves the formation of blood clots in the legs caused by sitting in cramped conditions for long periods. A clot can be deadly if it moves to the lungs. The problem has been dubbed “economy class syndrome” because of the often tight conditions on passenger jets.
Among the airlines who will be represented at the meeting Friday are Qantas, Ansett, Virgin, Air New Zealand and British Airways.
