Published on 01 August 2025
Planning air travel with COPD requires careful preparation to ensure your journey is safe and comfortable. Changes in cabin pressure, dry air, and long flights can pose challenges, but with the right support, flying is possible at any stage of COPD.
Factors that affect your ability to fly with COPD
GP advice
If you’re planning to fly and have COPD, it’s important to request a fitness-to-fly assessment, also known as a hypoxic challenge test (HCT), from your GP to assess your risk, as this can vary from person to person. A HCT is generally always completed by a respiratory physician or a competent clinician and can be used for all chronic respiratory diseases, although all the evidence relates to COPD.
At Benenden Hospital, whilst we do not currently offer these HCT tests to patients, there are other ways for us to assess your fitness for travel by reviewing you in our respiratory medicine clinic.
Inform your healthcare provider of the following facts:
- Review of symptoms
- Baseline exercise capacity
- Recent exacerbation history
- Treatment history
- Previous experience of air travel
- Consideration of the logistics of the intended journey, to include (if known):
- Number and duration of flights, including whether daytime or over night
- Location of stop-over(s) and destination: these determine air quality, altitude and available medical facilities
- Time away from home
From this information, your GP can work with you to create a plan for you to follow if you become unwell during your travels. In some cases, a GP may advise against flying after these factors have been assessed, as it may be detrimental to your health.
COPD stage
There are four stages of COPD: mild, moderate, severe and very severe. It is possible to travel with stage four COPD, but it’s important to get approved prior to flying by a fit to fly assessment. Your risks do increase with each stage, so informing your airline about your condition and oxygen requirements in advance will benefit your safety.
In-flight treatment
The longer the flight you’re planning to take, the more medication you’ll need to take. Ensuring access to necessary prescribed medical supplies, such as inhalers, means you can manage any potential COPD triggers on the plane. It’s important to inform airlines of the condition for necessary accommodations (supplemental oxygen, wheelchair assistance), and to have the appropriate level of medical insurance, especially if you’re travelling alone. If you are on oxygen therapy, make plans for having oxygen with you as you travel.
What are the risks of flying with COPD?
Lower oxygen levels in aircraft cabins
The cabin pressure in planes results in less oxygen during a flight. This can affect the lungs of people with COPD as they have lower oxygen levels anyway. If you need oxygen during exercise or sleep, you may also need it for air travel. A test called the high-altitude simulation test, recommended by your healthcare provider, can determine if you will need supplemental oxygen. The cabin pressure and reduced oxygen can increase breathlessness.
Dry cabin air causing infections
As well as the cabin being pressurised, the cabin air is also often quite dry and is recirculated air. This, and being in such close proximity to many passengers can put COPD sufferers at increased risk of getting a lung infection. Here are a few tips to reduce your risk of infection:
- Stay hydrated by drinking water and avoiding alcohol, tea and coffee
- Wear a mask, as this can protect against airborne droplets
- Wash your hands regularly
- Take prescribed antibiotics with you in your hand luggage to treat infection quickly
Preparing to fly with COPD
To recap, it’s important to take the following six steps to prepare effectively to fly with COPD.
- Speak to your GP or respiratory Consultant
- Book a COPD fit-to-fly assessment
- Arrange in-flight oxygen if required
- Pack enough medications for easy access on the flight
- Request airport mobility support if required
- Purchase travel insurance for medical coverage
When to speak to a specialist
If you’re experiencing persistent shortness of breath, regular coughs, frequent chest infections, or wheezing, especially if you smoke or have a family history of COPD, our respiratory medicine service can help.
Our Consultant Respiratory and Sleep Physician, Dr Sandip Banerjee and Consultant in Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Dr Syed Hassan, will support you in providing diagnosis and treatment for a range of lung conditions which can affect your breathing.
Get in touch using our online enquiry form or contact our Private Patient Team via Livechat or on 01580 363158.