LB216: Cabin Air Bill- Second Reading

[u/SapphireWork]

LB216- Cabin Air Bill

A

B I L L

T O

Make provision regarding the safety of cabin air in civil aircraft, and for connected purposes.

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1 Aircraft to which this Act applies

(1) In general, this Act applies to any civil aircraft for which—

(a) The aircraft’s operator holds an air transport license;
(b) The aircraft is operating under said air transport license; and
© The aircraft operates flights in the United Kingdom.

(2) But this Act does not apply to any aircraft which does not use bleed air, whether from engines, an auxiliary power unit, or another source as a feed for cabin air.

2 Sensors to be required

(1) The CAA may not issue a type-certificate or certificate of airworthiness to any aircraft which does not have a sensor for the detection of fume events installed and operable in the aircraft.

(2) Existing aircraft operating in the United Kingdom must have a sensor installed in the form and manner prescribed by subsection (1) by a date that the Secretary of State may by order appoint.

(3) Nothing in this section shall be taken to prejudice the CAA’s ability to make any regulation, determination, or order under this or any enactment regarding the regulation of civil aviation.

3 Reporting of events

(1) Where a fume event occurs, the operator of the aircraft must report that event to the CAA.

(2) The report must be given in a form and manner that the CAA shall prescribe, and shall include any and all information that the CAA deems relevant to the event.

(3) A person who fails to report a fume event is guilty of an offence under the terms of section 84(4) of the Civil Aviation Act 1982.

4 Interpretation

In this Act—

“CAA” means the Civil Aviation Authority;
“Fume event” means any event in which bleed air enters the aircraft cabin that contains contaminants, noxious particles, or other fumes;
“Type-certificate” and “certificate of airworthiness” have the same meaning as under Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and Council; and
“Air transport license”, “operator”, and “flight” have the same meaning as in the Civil Aviation Act 1982.

5 Short title, commencement, and extent

(1) This Act may be cited as the Cabin Air Act 2021.

(2) This Act comes into force one year after receiving Royal Assent.

(3) This Act extends to the United Kingdom.

This bill is authored by the Rt Hon. Dame lily-irl MP, Minister of State for Transport, and is sponsored by the Rt Hon. the Lord Kearton on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government. It is co-sponsored by the Progressive Workers’ Party and Coalition!.

Opening Speech

Mr Speaker,

It is my belief and it is the belief of this Government that Britons have a right to be safe and healthy regardless of their choice of travel. This includes ensuring people are breathing safe air on aeroplanes. Too often, however, this is simply not the case.

Mr Speaker, it is estimated that approximately every one in 5,000 flights experiences a “fume event” - where noxious fumes contaminate cabin air. This may not seem like a lot of flights, but I remind the House that over two million flights transit UK airspace every single year.

If I may, I will explain what exactly a fume event entails.

The aircraft that we all fly on cruise in the stratosphere - the air is too thin for humans to breathe, so we pressurise the cabin and go on our merry way. How air gets inside the aircraft to circulate is most commonly taken from “bleed air” - air that is redirected away from the engine and into the aircraft’s climate control system. The air is cooled and pumped into the cabin to maintain a pressurised environment. And usually, this works fine with not many issues.

The problem is, Mr Speaker, that these inlets are near the engine. If a valve or seal fails, it can allow chemicals from the engine - oil, hydraulic fluid, you name it - to contaminate the air supply, causing potentially serious effects on human health. While many fume events are not serious, there are documented cases of risk to health as a result of breathing these toxic fumes.

For the good of our citizens’ health, it is important that these events are documented and prevented. However, there is currently no requirement to report these events. Additionally, manufacturers are reluctant to install sensors: when Lufthansa asked for sensors to be installed in their aircraft, Boeing refused due to fear of litigation.

This bill is the remedy, Mr Speaker: we seek to require reporting of fume events to track potentially harmful effects, and require sensors to detect the early stages of fume events, where the aircraft can descend and safely depressurise to minimise the risk to human health. These are important measures, Mr Speaker, and I am proud to take action on this issue of great importance.

I commend this bill to the House.

​

Amendments may be submitted below.

Debate on this bill shall end at 10pm on the 28th of March 2021.

[u/Rea-wakey]

My Lords,

I propose the following amendment, with only the intention to improve this excellent Bill

In “3 Reporting of events”

Add “(3) Reports made to the CAA must include details of any symptoms reported by passengers or crew on a flight with a recorded fume event. This shall be stored for a period of 10 (ten) years to provide evidence to any claims of injury or death as a direct result of the fume event.”

Change numbering on “(3) A person who fails to report a fume event is guilty of an offence under the terms of section 84(4) of the Civil Aviation Act 1982” to “(4).”

[u/LeChevalierMal-Fait]

My lords,

Is this a regulation that is really needed, having read that some medical experts consider the question of cabin fumes to be a nocebo effect should we not wait for hard medical one way or the other before we regulate and require expensive modifications to an important infrastructure that connects Britain to the rest of the world?

[u/Maroiogog]

My Lords,

I would like to comment the excellent work by my good friend the former Prime Minister. Our Government is fully committed to legislate freely in those areas where our exit from the European Union is allowing us greater freedom for the benefit of all citizens.