For years, passengers and crew have trusted that the air they breathe aboard commercial airplanes is safe. But a recent investigation by the Wall Street Journal has cast a troubling light on that assumption, revealing a hidden danger lurking in the skies: toxic fumes leaking into airplane cabins and cockpits, making crews and passengers dangerously ill. The findings, published on September 15, 2025, have sent shockwaves through the aviation industry and raised urgent questions about airline safety protocols, aircraft design, and regulatory oversight.
According to the Wall Street Journal, since 2010, airlines have filed thousands of reports with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warning that toxic fumes are seeping into airplane cockpits and cabins. These leaks, the investigation found, often originate from a system that draws in engine air and pushes it through the plane unfiltered. That means that when something goes wrong—say, an oil or hydraulic fluid leak—dangerous chemicals can be vaporized by the engine’s extreme heat and then circulated throughout the aircraft.
The number of such cases has surged in recent years, with Airbus’s widely used A320 jets at the center of the spike. FAA records reviewed by the Journal showed the rate of fume events has climbed to nearly 108 per million departures, a figure that’s alarmed both regulators and airline workers. And it’s not just numbers on a spreadsheet—these incidents have had devastating, real-world consequences for those on board.
One harrowing example cited by the Journal involved a Delta jet bound for South Carolina. Thick white smoke suddenly poured through the overhead vents, sending crew members and passengers scrambling for air. The pilots declared an emergency and turned the plane back to Atlanta. "Breathe through your clothing, stay low," a Delta flight attendant instructed over the loudspeaker, trying to keep panic at bay as the cabin filled with smoke.
JetBlue flight attendant Florence Chesson knows the dangers all too well. After breathing contaminated air on a flight to Puerto Rico, Chesson was left with a traumatic brain injury and permanent nerve damage. She recalled feeling as if she were drugged midair, then watched a fellow crew member collapse and vomit before both were rushed to a hospital after landing. "I felt like I was talking gibberish," Chesson told the Journal, repeating, "What just happened to me? What just happened to me?" The next morning, she woke up feeling like her brain was on fire. "I felt like someone poured gasoline and lit a match," she said.
Medical experts have drawn chilling parallels between the injuries suffered by flight crews and those seen in professional athletes. Dr. Robert Kaniecki, a neurologist, compared the damage to a chemical concussion "extraordinarily similar" to those suffered by NFL linebackers after brutal hits. Kaniecki said he has treated more than 100 flight attendants and about a dozen pilots for brain injuries tied to toxic cabin air over the past two decades. He described repeated exposures as "micro concussions" that prime crews for a major event—the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Other medical professionals have echoed these concerns. Dr. Robert Harrison, an occupational medicine specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, told the Journal he has treated more than 100 aircrew for injuries linked to fumes. "This is real, this can’t be just all in their heads," he said.
The problem is not limited to a single airline or manufacturer. Both Airbus and Boeing have admitted that oil and hydraulic fluid can leak from engines and vaporize at extreme heat, releasing toxic compounds into the air supply. In an internal 2017 email revealed in a lawsuit, Boeing quality inspector Steven Reiman warned oil leaks could make "aircrew sick to the point of death." Publicly, however, Boeing insists, "the cabin air inside Boeing airplanes is safe," while Airbus says its aircraft meet "all relevant and applicable airworthiness requirements."
For its part, Delta Airlines has taken action to address the issue, particularly on its A320 family of aircraft. A company representative told The Post that Delta’s "safety management system and safety culture help us address root causes of potential issues to reinforce that air transportation remains the safest form of travel in the world." Delta teams have replaced auxiliary power units on their A320 fleet, with more than 80 percent of the work completed as of September 2025.
JetBlue, which operates mostly Airbus jets, has also faced a dramatic rise in such incidents. The frequency of A320 fume events at JetBlue and Spirit spiked 660% between 2016 and 2024. JetBlue pilot Andrew Myers reportedly collapsed after inhaling fumes during a maintenance test and was later diagnosed with a "chemical-induced nervous system injury." Myers lost his FAA medical license in what became the first U.S. case where a court recognized long-term health damage from a fume event. "There are pilots that we’re both aware of that should not be flying," his wife Wendy told the Journal.
Airlines, for their part, continue to stress their commitment to safety. "We take nothing more seriously than the safety and health of our crewmembers and customers," a JetBlue spokesperson told The Post. The airline said it is "committed to developing best practices and guidance regarding procedures, training, and reporting of these events when they occur." Similarly, Southwest Airlines reported two flights in 2023 where bird strikes caused oil to leak into the bleed air system, exposing pilots to toxic chemicals for about 39 seconds. The airline said it "continues to address this issue through its robust Safety Management System while working with the manufacturers and Safety regulators to identify a permanent solution."
Regulators have not been immune from criticism. An FAA safety inspector warned in 2018 that modern jet oils contained organophosphates—once used "as a nerve agent for warfare"—and were entering cabins unfiltered. FAA investigators last year admitted in an internal report that bleed air contaminants are toxic, after reviewing the Southwest bird strike incidents. A recent FAA-funded study found chemicals such as formaldehyde and tridecane exceeded workplace safety limits when vaporized at engine heat levels. "It’s clear to me that there’s concerning data in these studies, and it’s inappropriately downplayed," Joseph Allen, a Harvard air-quality specialist, told the Journal.
The FAA says such tainted-air incidents are "rare." "The FAA is committed to protecting the safety and health of passengers and cabin crews on our nation’s airlines," an agency spokesperson told The Post. "The agency has strict cabin air standards, and studies have shown cabin air is as good as or better than the air found in offices and homes." The FAA said that "in rare instances, mechanical issues such as failures of an engine oil seal or recirculation fan bearings can cause fumes to enter the cabin." Airlines are required to report these incidents, and the FAA investigates and ensures issues are fixed before an aircraft returns to service.
Manufacturers are attempting fixes, but progress is slow. Airbus told customers last year that its "Project Fresh" redesign could cut cabin odor events by 85% with a relocated vent, but the fix will apply only to new jets starting in 2026. Meanwhile, flight crews like Florentina Tudor, a senior cabin crew member at Wizz Air, continue to report fume events—sometimes only to be dismissed or, in Tudor’s case, suspended and fired. "At some point I asked myself, is it just me, am I paranoid?" she said.
With the number of reported incidents on the rise and the health of crews and passengers at stake, the pressure is mounting on airlines, manufacturers, and regulators to address the dangers of toxic fumes in airplane cabins once and for all.
