Air NZ planning leg-clot warning

By SCOTT MacLEOD transport reporter

Air New Zealand is adding new advice to its inflight video to combat the problem of blood clots forming in passengers' legs.

The move comes as Britain's House of Lords calls on airline flight staff to lead their passengers in exercise routines that will stop the clots.

The Lords also urge that planes have more leg space, more comfortable seats and better aisle access, and that airlines serve less alcohol in a bid to thwart the clots.

The report was greeted with a "no comment" by Air NZ. But spokesman Alastair Carthew said the airline was making a new video for passengers, urging them to take regular exercise during long flights.

"It's not an airline-specific problem," he said. "It's across the whole range of travel that this could occur."

The House of Lords select committee on science and technology released the report on Friday.

It followed the death of 28-year-old Emma Christofferson from a clot that formed during a flight from Australia to Britain last month.

The Lords found that evidence existed that being cramped in a plane seat for a long time could spark a blood clot, and that this could be fatal up to several weeks later. The risk was small, and one study had found three times as many clots in people who had been on long car trips as in those who had been on airplanes.

The Lords said the risk of blood clots increased with age, length of trip, immobility, certain postures and tight underwear. Aircraft could contribute if they had low air pressure, little oxygen, low humidity and were going on long non-stop flights.

The nine-month study also found that dehydration from drinking too much caffeine and alcohol boosted the chances of clotting. Tall, fat people who smoked faced the most danger.

The solution for passengers was to "exercise calf muscles whilst seated by half-hourly rotating of ankles for a few minutes" and to "move around in seat and in cabin as much as possible."

The committee was chaired by Baroness Wilcox, who urged airlines to warn their passengers about clots before taking off.

"Passengers are not told enough to enable them to make informed choices about their air travel. While the health risks seem slight for the great majority, we recommend urgent research."

The committee has no power to back its report, but the Government must respond within two months.

The British report was kick-started by Lord Graham of Edmonton, who suffered from a blood clot after a long flight from NZ. He said airlines should let passengers walk about more and sit more comfortably.