How hot is too hot! Air con U/S - hot temperatures.
Can anyone give me an insight into the use of air conditioning when an aircraft is loaded with passengers and stationary on the ground in high temperature environments.
Had the misfortune of travelling with a certain low cost carrier during the week from Bordeaux to Ireland with my family. After boarding the aircraft the Captain announced there was an issue with air conditioning and that after the doors were closed the aircraft would get quite warm until such time as the engines could be started.
I estimate that the aircraft was approximately 90% full. It was a particularly hot day in Bordeaux. Temperature outside was 37 degrees at the time.
The doors were closed approximately 10 minutes before our scheduled push back departure time. However, the aircraft appears to have possibly picked up a slot and as a result was approx 52 minutes late pushing back from the gate.
Unfortunately, the temperature inside the aircraft began to climb with conditions deteriorating rapidly. Not only had they become intolerable for the
passengers but also the cabin crew.
On board the aircraft there was a wide mixture of age groups. From very young children to elderly individuals.
A number of passengers were calling out to the cabin crew for water. One response from a member of the cabin crew was that they did not have the authority to give out water as they could only do so if authorized by the company.
Another passenger mentioned how uncomfortable the conditions were and the response given was " That's not my fault how do you think I feel having to work in it".
Eventually, the aircraft did push back from the gate and the engines were started. One thing I did notice was that the engines were not started while on stand instead they were started on the push back.
In this scenario I'm willing to give the Captain the benefit of the doubt that there was an issue with air conditioning etc being unavailable. The Captain
was however very poor in communicating with passengers and before descent while he did apologize for the delay made no reference to the uncomfortable and dangerous conditions all on board had endured.
The issue I have with such practices is that there is two age groups that are extremely prone to over heating. While a middle aged adult can regulate their temperature by sweating. This is not the case for young children and elderly individuals.
For children as their sweat glands have not fully developed in the same way as an adult they can quickly begin to overheat.
Likewise for elderly individuals as they get older they tend to lose their thermoregulation functions and have a narrower margin of safe temperature that they can endure, than that of a middle aged adult.
I have no doubt that if conditions on the day had persisted a number of individuals would have needed serious medical attention. After all the perfect
variables were at play - high temperatures in the cabin, dehydration and prone age groups.
As a result I have the following questions.
Is what was experienced on the day a regular occurrence?
Is there regulation within the airline industry for such eventualities?
What policies, procedures, standards or guidelines are airlines operating to for such occurrences?
Thank you!