Is This Standard Procedure for AirAsia?

[AmericanFlyer]

https://www.express.co.uk/travel/articles/977606/viral-video-AirAsia-India-air-conditioning-passengers-vomit

[SloppyJoe]

It may have just been humid outside. I don't think you would be able to get the plane cold enough with doors open to force people out. Turning the heat up would have worked, this seems like a slow news day so let's make something up. The passengers may have been scared but I have seen people in India at airports scared of escalators, having possibly never seen one before.

[Piltdown Man]

What a dreadful article. It was fact free at best. We saw mist/condensed vapour coming from the side panels and coughing passengers. It's not normal but we also don't know what created it. It certainly was not the Captain as aircraft air-conditioning systems do not have a "mist/fog" selection. Rather boringly, it's OFF/ON with temperature selection (the latter is often made in the cabin) and there might even be an ECON selection. It is possible that there was a fault in the water separator or even in the ground supply. Or there again, the air outside could have been so humid that no system could remove sufficient water to prevent misting.

PM

[nicolai]

It's a report the Daily Express, which is mostly malicious fiction. The Express is not a high quality newspaper.

Misting condensation in the cabin is pretty common in Asia especially on the ground while passengers are boarding or deplaning (... there's got to be a better word...) when humidity is high and the aircon has to work hard to handle the extra load of open doors. I've even experienced snow (small frozen water particles) from the air conditioning on occasion.

[ACMS]

The fog mist coming out of the vents is quite common on the Airbus, we see it on the 330 quite a bit.
Caused an evacuation on a TAA 727-200 in Alice Springs back in the 70’s or 80’s.

[oldpax]

Same leaving BKK last week ,its so humid here that it happens on most flights .

[b1lanc]

Daily occurrence in F-100/F-28s...

[esa-aardvark]

f-100/f-28's, yes been there for that. Air Asia at Kuala Lumpur often fog/rain in the cabin.

[tdracer]

I recall watching a wave of fog moving through the cabin after they opened the door after landing on a flight from Singapore to Jakarta many moons ago (I was in First Class for the flight, very near the door - I'm sure it dissipated as it moved aft) (A300 IIRC).
Another time, again in Jakarta - this time waiting for departure to Denpasar - the Swiss lady sitting next to me started to panic thinking the fog coming out of the ECS vents was smoke. I needed to explain to her what was going on... (MD80).
Sloppy Joe is right - must have been a slow news day so they made something up...

[megan]

Something you'll see on any aircraft in high humidity. Only ever seen it that dense though on a Shorts 360 in Miami.

Caused the pilot of a Sabre new to the aircraft to eject shortly after take off, unfortunately outside seat parameters.

[Sultan Ismail]

This is a common occurence in a humid environment, where the local cabin temperature is lowered to dew point. and the cabin doors are open to atmosphere.

If a jetway was connected with an air conditioned environment, the dew point would not be reached.

As a comparison, dew point in Kuala Lumpur is typically 25°C and in Johannesburg -4°C.

I use to see this misting regularly in East London and Port Elizabeth in the days before jetways.

[b1lanc]

I recall watching a wave of fog moving through the cabin after they opened the door after landing on a flight from Singapore to Jakarta many moons ago (I was in First Class for the flight, very near the door - I'm sure it dissipated as it moved aft) (A300 IIRC).
Another time, again in Jakarta - this time waiting for departure to Denpasar - the Swiss lady sitting next to me started to panic thinking the fog coming out of the ECS vents was smoke. I needed to explain to her what was going on... (MD80).
Sloppy Joe is right - must have been a slow news day so they made something up...

The Fokkers used to fog up (a lot) after the door was shut, AC backed away from the gate and power applied to taxi. Their cooling ability at the gate was terrible. It was not uncommon for the crew to make an announcement to pax that it was only water vapor and would clear once the cabin cooled down and please keep all shades down while at the gate. It was also interesting to hear the rattling of ice pellets migrate from the front of the cabin (up top) to the rear when rotating.

[India Four Two]

Departing from Manila in a (non-pressurized) Dornier 328, we had fog rolling down the aisle and the cockpit was briefly IMC:

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.gmforum.com-vbulletin/825x1100/dornier_fog_img_1907_copy_4e36b21c406d690b1c01177587c7e3eed9 d0cc87.jpg

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.gmforum.com-vbulletin/800x600/dornier_cockpit_img_1909_copy_c77521bd3358ef91d103aac2f03203 be5271c78e.jpg

[stilton]

Fogging the cabin is standard procedure,
two position switch alternating with chem trailing..

[Carbon Bootprint]

I first saw it on an A300 leaving Houston in the 80's. The condensation dripped on to my wife's precious jacket so she claimed a cleaning voucher from the airline crew.

Since then I've seen it a lot in steamy places, especially in Southeast Asia.

[WingNut60]

Can't fathom why mist from the AC, even heavy mist, would lead to vomiting ??
It's water vapour FFS.

Can only imagine that not a single passenger had ever flown before.
Not only is it a common occurrence in tropical climates, it's bl...dy near universal.

What a crock...............

[zanzibar]

while passengers are boarding or deplaning (... there's got to be a better word...)

You could use "alighting" or "disembarkIng".

Used as a pair with "enplaning", deplaning is correct or you could pair boarding with "deboarding"

They're all corect, just a matter of personal preference.

[jugofpropwash]

Can't fathom why mist from the AC, even heavy mist, would lead to vomiting ??
It's water vapour FFS.



Any chance that the mist "woke up" an odor? If there was a dead mouse/mold/spilled milk or something else spoiled somewhere in the AC system, a heavy mist might have triggered a gag-worthy smell? I've seen (smelled?) it happen in cars.

[krismiler]

Cold air from the vents mixes with warm moist air in the cabin, as the air cools its can’t contain as much moisture which condenses forming cloud/fog. If it was raining heavily the air outside would likely be saturated and close to dew point as heavy rain normally lowers the temperature as well.

On the ground in tropical conditions it’s quite difficult to get the cabin cold enough to be uncomfortable in a short period of time. Once airborne and in cooler air with a higher rate of flow through the cabin it’s much easier, and the heating may need to be turned up especially if the number of passengers is low as people radiate heat.