Your child’s doctor has requested that a fitness to fly test be carried out on your child. The test will be carried out in the Respiratory Function Laboratory.
Why does this need to be done?
The oxygen level in a plane is lower than the air we usually breathe. It is about the same level of oxygen in the air that your child would breathe if you took them to a mountain ski resort. The test is done to check whether your child will need oxygen to be safe to fly in a plane.
How does the test work?
During the test your child sits in a large box (see leaflet) for about an hour. If your child is young you may have to sit in the box with them. The first part of the test slowly changes the air your child is breathing. We take a small amount of oxygen out of the box until it is equal to the oxygen level in a plane. This normally takes 10-20 minutes. Once this is done we keep an eye on them for about 40 minutes. During this time we may add some oxygen to the air that they are breathing to see if your child may need oxygen during the flight. We may put oxygen prongs or a mask on your child to do this. Once we have enough information the test is stopped and the box is opened.
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Our information leaflet for patients and parents explains more. |