British airlines are facing legal action by 17 former and serving cabin crew claiming they have been poisoned by ‘toxic’ cabin air.
The cases are being funded by the Unite union which is calling for a public enquiry into contaminated cabin air and has recently opened a dedicated legal until to record and process such claims.
It says its lawyers are now working on 17 individual personal injury claims against British airlines in the civil courts.
Workers believe they have fallen sick after breathing in fumes mixed with engine oil and other toxic chemicals.
The BBC said uncensored safety reports submitted to the CAA, and obtained by the Victoria Derbyshire programme, show that between April 2014 and May 2015 there were 251 separate incidents of fumes or smoke inside a large passenger jet operated by a British airline.
However the CAA maintains that incidents of smoke or fumes on planes are rare and there is no evidence of long-term health effects.
