Aircrew and Pesticides

Key points

  • Aircrew can be exposed to pesticides at work.
  • Countries require that in-bound flights be treated with pesticides to prevent the spread of insects, or diseases carried by insects, like malaria or Zika.
  • Avoid skin contact with surfaces that are still wet with pesticide.
Female aircrew member with passengers inside the cabin of a commercial aircraft.

Overview

Cabin of a commercial aircraft and seated passengers shown from the rear of the cabin.
Some countries require in-bound flights to be treated with pesticides.

What is disinsection?

The process of applying pesticides to kill insects is called disinsection. Some countries require that in-bound flights be treated with pesticides to prevent the spread of insects, or diseases carried by insects, like malaria or Zika.

Disinsection methods can include spraying the aircraft cabin with an insecticide (either before or after passengers board, or while in flight) or treating the aircraft's inside surfaces (while passengers are not on board) with an insecticide that can be effective at killing insects for up to 8 weeks.12

What air and ground crew should know

Aircrew and passengers can be exposed to pesticides during aircraft disinsection or from contact with treated surfaces within the aircraft (fuselage).123

Aircrew, passengers, and ground crew can unknowingly be exposed to insecticides even when they are on flights that don't require disinsection (including flights within the continental United States) because aircraft that have been treated with insecticides can be used on multiple flight routes.

Aircrew may spray a pesticide in the aircraft cabin after the aircraft leaves the gate and/or before it lands.12

Ground crew (including maintenance or cleaning staff) may treat surfaces inside the aircraft with a pesticide prior to aircrew and passengers boarding. Additionally, ground crew might enter an aircraft shortly after disinsection and before treated surfaces have dried.123

Health effects of exposure

It is unknown whether long-term exposure to the chemicals used in aircraft disinsection might cause health effects in air and ground crew. Most studies of pesticide safety were not conducted in the enclosed environment of aircraft.

Pesticide exposure may occur when eating or drinking products that have come in contact with surfaces treated with pesticides.

Pesticides used for aircraft disinsection are mixtures including solvents, propellants, surfactants, and synergists. Research on the health effects of exposure to these mixtures, as well as possible combined effects with other chemicals present in aircraft environments, are needed.

Although the types of pesticides used in disinsection are generally not believed to cause allergy or asthma symptoms, allergic sensitization, asthma symptoms, and anaphylaxis (a sudden and severe allergic reaction) have been reported related to exposure to commercial aircraft disinsection products.2456

Additional research is needed to clarify the relationship between disinsection and asthma/allergy.

There is no single set of standards for how aircraft disinsection is conducted. It is unknown whether all aircraft disinsection adheres to the WHO guidelines regarding disinsection, label directions, and good occupational hygiene practices. Reports from passengers and aircrew suggest that there are major differences in how disinsection is performed. Better understanding of current practices is needed.

Further studies of aircraft surfaces and aircrew are needed to evaluate whether repeated applications of insecticides in a cabin, or improper application of pesticides in aircraft, might cause increased exposure.

Some insects are resistant to the pesticides used in aircraft disinsection. Research to evaluate the usefulness of chemical disinsection, as well as non-chemical and engineering controls that can be used as an alternative, is needed.

What you can do

For employers

To ensure the safety of both employees and customers, employers can carefully review their protocols to ensure they are following relevant safety guidance for the pesticide products they are using, such as WHO guidelines on disinsection and the Safety Data Sheets or other manufacturer guidance for the specific products that are being used on their aircraft, and ensure that their workplace protocols adhere to best safety guidance.

All staff who apply insecticides should be trained on how to properly apply the products, including observing re-entry times if applicable.

Employers may also want to evaluate alternative methods of preventing insects from traveling on aircraft that reduce or prevent the need to use insecticides, such as using air curtains and eliminating mosquito breeding zones around airports and cargo handling areas.

For employees

  • Talk with your employer or employee representative about concerns you have with pesticide exposure.
  • Avoid skin contact with surfaces that are still wet with pesticide.
  • Follow up with your supervisor and healthcare provider if you have concerns about your potential pesticide exposure. Make sure your healthcare provider knows that you work as a crewmember.
  1. United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). PRN 96-3: Pesticide Products Used to Disinsect Aircraft.
  2. World Health Organization. International Programme on Chemical Safety. Environmental Health Criteria 243: Aircraft Disinsection Insecticides.
  3. World Health Organization (2005). Safety of Pyrethroids for Public Health Use
  4. Vanden Driessche, K. S., A. Sow, A. Van Gompel and K. Vandeurzen (2010). “Anaphylaxis in an airplane after insecticide spraying.” J Travel Med 17(6): 427-429.
  5. Vandenplas, O., J. P. Delwiche, J. Auverdin, U. M. Caroyer and F. B. Cangh (2000). “Asthma to tetramethrin.” Allergy 55(4): 417-418.
  6. Salome, C. M., G. B. Marks, P. Savides, W. Xuan and A. J. Woolcock (2000). “The effect of insecticide aerosols on lung function, airway responsiveness and symptoms in asthmatic subjects.” Eur Respir J 16(1): 38-43.
  • Sutton, P. M., X. Vergara, J. Beckman, M. Nicas and R. Das (2007). “Pesticide illness among flight attendants due to aircraft disinsection.” American Journal of Industrial Medicine 50(5): 345-356.