Last Update: at 16:32

Malaise on the Airbus

TAP Portugal crew members complain about A330 Neo

Crew members and passengers seem to occasionally feel uncomfortable after flights on TAP Portugal's Airbus A330 Neo. Airline, manufacturers and authorities are evaluating the reports.

TAP Portugal is Airbus’ launch customer on the A330 Neo, which they took delivery of last November. The Portuguese airline already has eleven A330-900 in its fleet and is expecting ten more. But now there seem to be problems: TSF radio reports that crew members and passengers have repeatedly felt ill during or after flights with the A330 Neo. There are mentions of nausea, dizziness and vomiting. According to information from the station, pilots on a flight to Brazil even put on oxygen masks to be on the safe side. The SNPVAC union said it has received about a dozen reports of malaise in TAP‘s A330 Neo. The European aviation authority Easa and the Portuguese Anac have been informed about the issue, according to the report.

No health risk according to TAP

According to SNPVAC, trade unions and crew members have been invited to Airbus in France to discuss a possible problem with the engineers. The union expects the airline and manufacturer to evaluate the reports by the end of July. TAP confirmed to Lusa news agency occasional cases of «crew members with minor complaints»˛ that may be related to odours from air conditioning systems. However, this is not unusual in new aircraft. The airline told TSF that TAP and Airbus had carried out tests and that there was no risk to the health of crews and passengers.

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