Oil in Aircon?

[PieFace]

Hello, Newbie here.. I don’t know if this is the right forum to ask this

I was travelling back from London City this afternoon. I openned the overhead air nozzle not long after take off and it blew out what I thought was a fine water mist but when I was cleaning off my glasses I noticed it seemed to be more like oil. It irrated my eyes and nose but not actutely. I told the purser what had happened and she offered me another seat and said it was probably because they completely shut the aircraft completely down at LCY – everything went quiet and dark for a few minutes before we left. Where was it coming from? Is it normal?

PF

[walterthesofty]

Perfectly normal old chap, oils added as a means of lubricating your nasal passages during long flights, helps prevent that awfull dry throat one gets

[munster]

Assuming you were on an RJ/146. this aircraft has a long history of engine oil getting into the air conditioning system. If you couldn't smell the oil in the air it is possible that the aircraft may have had a problem in the past and the high humidity on your particular flight just washed a little residual oil out.

[PieFace]

I’m not sure what type of aircraft it was I know very little about aviation other than which seats to avoid. In Switzerland it’s nickname is Jumbolino, like mini-747.

Anyway, thanks for the answer. I told the purser because I thought something could be wrong and thought it strange that a passenger complaining they had just been sprayed with oil (I showed it her on my skin, It wasn’t like a single drop) could be dismissed as normal. But it seems it is! I know if oil was coming out of my car aircon it would get switched off and taken for repair.