Tourists who have flown on airplanes know that the cabin is always cool during the flight. The cold is not due to the staff’s desire to freeze passengers to the bone and not to the airline’s fuel economy, but to medical conditions revealed in a study by ASTM International, an American organization for testing materials.

As the experts explained, hypoxia, a condition in which a person does not get enough oxygen and can lose consciousness, is exacerbated by the high temperatures and pressure in the cabin. Therefore, to prevent passengers and pilots from fainting, the temperature in the cabin should be low. Scientists have previously studied the relationship between tourists fainting while in the air and cabin pressure and temperature. It was found experimentally that tourists were more likely to pass out during a flight due to a condition known as hypoxia.

Synopsis: Fainting occurs when body tissues do not receive enough oxygen and the condition worsens due to high cabin pressure and high temperatures. Cases of fainting as a result of this condition are actually surprisingly common on flights. To reduce the number of such incidents, air carriers have decided to lower the cabin temperature after takeoff.

While the temperature may not seem ideal for vacationers who are constantly freezing, for medical reasons it is the most comfortable so that travelers don’t pass out during the flight. Therefore, travelers should bring a warm sweater on board.

Disaster due to hypoxia

Hypoxia can be extremely dangerous. For example, in August 2005, it caused a major plane crash that killed all those involved in the flight – 121 passengers and crew.

During a flight from the resort city of Larnaca, Cyprus, to Athens, Greece, the cabin lost pressure, causing the crew and tourists to lose consciousness and the plane to go on autopilot. Two fighter-interceptors were dispatched to understand why the plane stopped communicating. Upon locating the airliner, they noticed that one pilot was unconscious and the other’s seat was empty. Soon, at an altitude of 11,000 meters, the flight attendant sat at the helm. He did not lose consciousness because he managed to use his oxygen tank. After a short time, the airplane ran out of fuel and the engine stopped. As the steward took off his mask, he too soon lost consciousness. Then the second engine failed and the aircraft crashed into a mountain and crashed.