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Travel Safety Update

For more safety & security data and analysis, please go to: http://www.airguideonline.com/professional.htm May 22, 2006

DVT is not a danger to air travelers according to two influential studies. Researchers simulating conditions of reduced cabin pressure and reduced oxygen levels such as may be encountered during an 8-hour aeroplane flight, found no increase in the activation of the blood clotting system among healthy individuals, according to a study in the May 17 issue of JAMA (Journal of the American Association). In the UK a study by the University of Leicester's Department of Cardiovascular Sciences and University of Aberdeen's School of Medicine has come to the same conclusion. Also involved was the RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine at Henlow in Bedfordshire and the Academic Medical Centre at the University of Amsterdam. This study was funded by the UK Department for Transport, the UK Department of Health and the European Commission. May 21, 2006

Airplane environment does not cause blood clots, study says. A team of researchers has found that the thin air inside airplanes does not trigger blood clots. The researchers took blood samples from volunteers who sat in a chamber that simulated an airliner environment and then in a chamber at ground level. May 17, 2006

FAA proposal overstates risk of explosion, European carriers say. European carriers and jetmaker Airbus say that the Federal Aviation Administration overstates the risk of a fuel tank explosion in a proposed rule on fuel-tank safety. Airbus and the carriers also say the new measures could put more fuel-tank maintenance workers at risk. The FAA has proposed new "flammability reduction" methods. May 16, 2006

US National Transportation Safety Board will hold a two-day public hearing into the Southwest Airlines runway overrun accident at Chicago Midway last December beginning June 20 in Washington. May 16, 2006

Airlines, airports continue close coordination with agencies on pandemic planning. Airlines and airports continue to work closely with the Homeland Security and Health and Human Services departments in the event of an avian flu outbreak. The airline industry is concerned the U.S. government could unnecessarily scare passengers -- and money -- away from the industry and are fighting for clearer language in the plan that would limit when passenger screening would be implemented. "There is always a concern that implementing measures either prematurely or more extreme than called for will send a signal to the public that the threat is greater than it might be," said Katherine Andrus, assistant general counsel for the Air Transport Association. May 15, 2006

FAA says thunderstorms could affect summer travel. Federal Aviation Administration officials said severe thunderstorms could affect summer travel. In the past, the FAA has dealt with poor weather by keeping planes at small airports on the ground while large airports clear away backed up traffic. "It's a plan and an approach that for the last two years has worked well with big airports and I think we're going to see us expanding that," FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said. May 15, 2006

New technology may reduce delays, diversions. The FAA has started operating new flight paths that could reduce the number of delayed and canceled flights. The paths are the result of new technology that allows planes to take off and land in bad weather. "We think it will be more predictable and more flexible," said Air Transport Association Vice President Basil Barimo. May 15, 2006

Lufthansa

Lufthansa 747-400 collapsed onto its nose at Frankfurt Monday when the nose gear gave way. A spokesperson said that the airline is investigating the incident, which occurred shortly before the aircraft was scheduled for pushback for a flight to New Delhi. None of the 242 passengers and 16 crewmembers onboard was reported injured. The 747 was delivered to LH in 2001, according to Reuters. May 17, 2006

ValuJet

ValuJet tragedy prompts important safety changes. The crash of ValuJet Flight 592 in 1996 prompted several important safety changes. Soon after the crash, which occurred 10 years ago today, the Federal Aviation Administration banned oxygen generators in commercial flight cargo holds and mandated fire detection and suppression systems for cargo areas. May 15, 2006

Virgin Atlantic Airlines

Virgin to carry life-saving technology. Virgin Atlantic will be introducing Tempus, the telemedicine device designed for use by non-medical experts during a remote medical emergency, onto its aircraft. May 16, 2006

WTO

WTO, health agencies recommend preventive flu virus measures. The World Tourism Organization's newly formed Travel Emergency Response Network seeks to coordinate planning for travel companies around the globe if a bird flu pandemic occurs. "The magic word here is 'preparedness,'" said Geoffrey Lipman, special adviser on avian flu to the secretary general of the U.N.-affiliated World Tourism Organization. May 16, 2006

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