Passengers in pain

By JIM POLLARD

Heart attacks, cancer, deep-vein thrombosis ... there are as many health risks associated with flying as there are passengers in economy class.

But we accept them. Frequent long-distance travel is now a routine part of many workers' lives, and what was once a perk is now a pain in the neck.

"I visited Amsterdam more than 50 times in two years and never saw anything beyond the airport, the office and the Holiday Inn over the road," says British business services consultant Martin Warne of his old job in cable television.

"All the travel sounded exciting but the reality was getting up at 5.30 am. It was very stressful.

"You worry whether the car will turn up ... any delay on the road, at the airport or in the sky could mess up your schedule."

Despite the apparent alternatives such as fax, e-mail and teleconferencing, business travel continues to grow.

Some 14.8 million business passengers flew in and out of Britain last year, and that number is increasing by about a million a year.

"In the global economy more and more people deal with more and more countries," says Warne, "and it extends further down organisations.

"Many organisations have teleconferencing but often nobody knows how to use it."

How does the travel affect staff? Stephen Joy, now a marketing director at toymaker Mattel and a frequent traveller during his 16-year career, believes business travel has become more stressful as it has become more common.

"Modern communication means that the only time you're truly out of reach is on the plane. You see everyone switch on their mobiles as they open the overhead luggage racks. When you get to the hotel you have to log on and get your email.

"In the past, when you were away, you were away. Now you're expected to take the in-tray with you, and managing your work from afar can be very difficult, especially if you're in a different time zone."

As business travel has grown, companies have begun to pay increasing attention to its impact on profits. "As a junior I travelled in much more comfort than I do now,' says Joy. "Costs are scrutinised. It is assumed that after an overnight flight you'll be in the office next morning - no fun if you haven't had a wink of sleep in a poky seat."

But surely the cost is more than just that of the ticket. How long is it before a worker is back to his or her best after a long flight? And what about longer-term health damage?

Half of long-haul passengers have digestive problems and, because most airlines recirculate the air inside planes, mixing half fresh with half recycled, flu bugs and other airborne diseases are among the most common of frequent travellers.

New research suggests that the health risks may be more serious than this, and that even jet leg - once seen as little more than a minor inconvenience - may be more disruptive than commonly thought.

A British report has suggested that one in 10 air passengers are at risk from blood clots and deep-vein thrombosis from sitting in cramped conditions for a long period.

The World Health Organisation is worried about the risk of tumours among regular flyers after research showing that flight attendants are twice as susceptible to skin cancer and 30 per cent more to breast cancer than the general population.

These figures may be the result of lifestyle rather than airline travel, but with the average long-haul flight attendant being exposed to radiation equal to 250 chest X-rays a year, there is understandable concern.

Flying can bring on heart attacks. The reduced cabin pressure at high altitude cuts the amount of blood in the body and brain, increasing the chance of serious illness in at-risk individuals, particularly older passengers and those with high blood pressure. Eating and drinking before travel may reduce the risk.

There is a cost to the planet, too, says Friends of the Earth. One return transatlantic flight creates as much carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas, as the average British motorist generates in a year.

With companies increasingly being encouraged to look at environmental costs, has the time come to reassess attitudes to business travel?