A campaign led by the UK’s Pulmonary Hypertension Association and the British Lung Foundation to end the restrictions and charges that airlines place on people with a lung condition, which has already gained the backing of the Equality & Human Rights Commission, will take center stage on June 30 in a Westminster Hall debate.

People with respiratory diseases such as Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) and the more common Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) often require additional supplementary oxygen due to the low levels of oxygen in their blood.

However, due to the policies set by the airlines, it is both expensive and difficult for people with this disability to travel by air. A recent survey of twenty-two major airlines, conducted by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, found that just five companies allow people to bring their own oxygen cylinder on to their planes and that only nine air carriers allow people to use their own portable oxygen concentrators (POCs) on board. Other airlines only allow passengers to use the oxygen that they provide and at an additional cost.

Individuals with breathing issues, including chronic lung disease patients, asthmatics, and heart disease patients, are dependent on either tanks of purified oxygen or POCs. The smallest, portable oxygen tank is 2.5 feet tall, providing about two hours of life-saving pure oxygen. Heavier five-foot long tanks might provide as much as six hours of oxygen, but they must be stowed in a jetliner cabin’s overhead storage bin with the lifeline running down to the passenger seat.

The majority of ambient air is composed of nitrogen. A POC filters nitrogen out of the surrounding air, providing a concentrated flow of oxygen to the user. POCs weighing 75-80 pounds that plug into wall AC outlets have been around for a number of years in patient’s homes.

On the other hand, a battery-operated portable POC is about the size of a toaster oven, weighs 9-10 pounds, is carried in a shoulder bag or mounted in a wheeled cart, much like a luggage trolley, and can be stowed under a passenger seat. It runs as long as lithium battery power is available. A portable POC costs about $5,000, so most users simply rent them for trips, as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have approved several models for use onboard commercial aircraft.

Iain Armstrong, chairman of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, stated: ‘I believe the charging of those with lung conditions for supplementary oxygen is a grossly unfair tax. Disability rights are not about having different rights but equal rights. These individuals should have the same opportunities to travel, free from discriminatory charges, as the rest of us. I therefore urge all the airlines that have not already done so, to drop these charges.”

Helena Shovelton, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: “Supplemental oxygen is as important to people with breathing problems as a wheelchair is to people who have difficulty walking. All airlines should allow people dependent on supplemental oxygen to travel with it free of charge, if they have medical clearance to do so. We need the airlines to act on this with urgency.”

Some 218 MPs from across the political spectrum demonstrated their backing for the campaign by signing Early Day Motion 1444: Supplementary Charges for Oxygen tabled by Nick Ainger MP for Carmarthen West & South Pembrokeshire. Furthermore, 130 MPs have lobbied the UK Department of Transport directly, calling for action on what’s been termed a ‘breathing tax on the disabled’.

Meanwhile, a new U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulation, which went into effect May 16, requires all U.S. and foreign airlines serving the United States to accept portable POCs on aircraft.

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the FAA and TSA no longer permitted passengers to bring their personal portable oxygen tanks onboard commercial transport, a ban that remains today. Screeners had no means to verify that they only contained oxygen. Airlines were then required to provide oxygen for passengers with breathing problems for a fee, of course, about $100 per flight leg.

Some air carriers had previously approved use of POCs, but the new DOT regulation requires all U.S. air carriers, including regional airlines, which had banned POCs, and foreign airlines flying to/from U.S. gateways, to allow operation of personal POCs aboard their civil transports.

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