Airline acts on DVT

While courts do not generally recognise a concrete link between deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and air travel, British Airways (BA) still aims to promote good health for passengers.

A spokesperson for the company revealed that more people are now concerned about health issues surrounding air travel and that BA always tries to act in a manner that encourages passenger wellbeing.

"The link between flying and DVT has not been recognised. It's gone all the way to the House of Lords and the House of Lords ruled in favour of the airlines," he explained.

"But we obviously do understand that customers have concerns about it, hence why we do a lot of work to promote good health on board.

"We like to take it very seriously, as do customers, and the level of knowledge amongst customers is pretty good now."

The spokesperson added that it was important that passengers on long-haul flights remained well hydrated during their journey and that sleeping can help beat jetlag.

Figures suggest that DVT occurs in about one in every 1,000 people worldwide annually and that between one and five per cent of these cases will prove fatal.