How Ill is Too Ill to Fly?

[anneh]

I just got back from a trip to Sweden, I was ill in the run up to the flight, and on the morning of the trip I was due to get the coach down to the airport, and ended up having to get a different coach instead (slept in after being up all night), turning my nice, slow, relaxing trip into a rushed nightmare.

I only travelled because I was sure that I would be mostly recovered before the flight, and I was right, thankfully, but I still looked like death when I got to the airport. I was no longer vomitting, but almost two days of vomitting meant I was tired, dehydrated, and had a stonker of a headache.

In the past I've been ill on trains and coaches (I get food poisoning if I look at something badly cooked, let alone eat it) and I've had some companies refuse to let me board 'in that condition' - so how come nobody at the airport challenged me?

I would have thought that they would be even more strict about flying, or do the airlines not care any more these days as long as you're fit enough to walk on board?

I'm just curious. I'm glad they let me fly, but I was suprised, and did expect at least an 'are you SURE you're fit...' based on my past experiences.
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Anne
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[deaddoll]

You really are the one who should have challenged yourself ?

If you did not think you were fit to fly then you should not have !.

The airlines do not give medicals as you board,if you collapse in the airport or on the plane before take off .you will be given a fit or not fit to fly if you go ill in the flight then its a different story . sorry if I seem a bit harsh but you know yourself that you are responsible for you..

did you tell the airline how ill you had been ?

[anneh]

You make a good point. I do think I was fit to fly - the flight was only 1hr 30ish, and I had just travelled several hours to the airport, intending, if I had 'relapsed' on the way to the airport to just turn back. I'm stubborn, but not totally crazy

What suprised me was that, as you said, if you get ill in the air, you're stuffed - it's not like they can just drop you off in the middle of the sky. So for them to be more relaxed about letting people on than a land vehicle seemed a bit odd.

I did mention to the lady on check in that I'd been ill, but she didn't seem to take anything in and just said stuff like 'Aww, I hope you're feeling better today'....

I don't think you were harsh, and I do prefer 'personal responsibility' to other people deciding for us what we're fit to do, I just expected, based on my land travel experiences, that someone might have at least said 'Are you sure you're OK'.
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Anne
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[trev]

With the coach companies experiences, was it the driver who wouldn't let you board or one of the other members of staff? Just thinking if it's the driver it might simply be that they don't want the hassle of someone stopping to be ill every half hour, whereas on an aircraft it's very unlikely the people you meet on the ground will be the same as those who are flying. It's simpler for them not to worry, as long as you're not drunk.

As for too ill to fly - I'd probably be more worried if you had a flu virus or similar that you can pass on to other passengers, as a stomach bug although nasty isn't as likely to get passed around in the air.

Trev
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[deaddoll]

Well they will take care of you in the air,but it cant be very nice just feeling ill on a plane ,crew have aviation medical training and a plane can always divert..but its still not a easy as a paramedic looking after you on the ground .. i hope you didnt feel to ill and I hope you got better ,its horrible feeling ill..
the lady on check in i think should have asked you if you felt better etc..and coach drivers are like taxi drivers ..they dont want to clean up and sick and they dont want to keep stopping the coach

[anneh]

Trev - with the coach, yes, it was the driver. With the train it was the ticket inspector - probably the same thing though, not wanting the hassle of an ill passenger.

I must sound terrible here - but in my defence the coach and train incidents were part of the same journey - food poisoning at the end of a weekend away

Deaddoll - I'm feeling great now, thanks I was pretty much totally recovered when I decided to make a go of it, just the people I was travelling with were all saying 'There's no way they'll let you on looking like that...' Its a shame we'd packed our cameras in checked luggage, otherwise I'd have grabbed a photo so I could see for myself.
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Anne
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