Many countries in the world require all airlines entering their airports to spray occupied (with passengers) aircraft and/or empty aircraft with pesticide.

For example, the government of Australia justifies the procedure as follows: "Disinsection of aircraft is one of the components of our quarantine arrangements to prevent the transport of insects which may be potential pests or the vectors of human, animal or plant disease."

Here are the countries where passengers may encounter a mist of pesticide fogging the cabin, requiring them to breathe the poison vapor:

Flyana.com has discovered, through the feedback of our readers, that some countries which require disinsections are not on the U.S. Department of Transportation's official list of countries that fog the cabin with pesticide on international flights.

The United Kingdom, for example, is not on the official list.

Yet the U.K. requires spraying on a number of sectors, for example, on flights from Kenya. From Kenya, passengers get a pesticide shower while sitting in their seats right after takeoff.

Other countries from which the U.K. requires disinsections are Egypt and India. After leaving Cairo and New Delhi airports on flights to London, passengers also get a toxic shower.

Why does the U.K. require disinsection from Kenya, Egypt and India?

And why does India, in turn, require spraying on the London to Delhi route? Is this spraying by India simply done in retaliation?

The political battles which allow countries to pesticide airline passengers are beyond reason. This is a lose/lose situation. The losers are the flying public--for according to the research, it is certain that a subset of the population will experience symptoms of toxic chemical poisoning when they get sprayed with pesticide and have to breathe pesticide vapors.

How can airlines continue to poison passengers in light of the irrefutable evidence that pesticide destroys cells--of humans as well as insects?

FOOLING PASSENGERS

The residual spraying which now takes place on planes is the most insidious aspect of what's currently going on. Passengers write me and say, "Oh, they're not spraying on flights to Australia anymore."

On the contrary, Australia is where the residual spraying is being carried out when aircraft are in transit. It is performed for the airlines of many foreign nationalities at Australian airports.

When the spraying is completed, the air-conditioning is operated for a minimum of one hour before passengers board "to allow surface droplets to dry."

What do you think? If a pesticide's off-gassing is strong enough to kill insects for eight weeks, surely it is strong enough to be toxic,to the passengers who breathe the residual fumes during those eight weeks--especially the first couple of days after each application.

The following countries try to fool passengers by using residual spray: Australia,
Fiji
Jamaica
New Zealand
Panama

WHAT TO DO?

If you encounter pesticide spray on your flights:

• Write to the country which requires disinsection and ask them to stop this practice.

• Email copies of your letters to post on this page so that we can continue to update this list of offenders/polluters/abusers.

• Donate to passenger advocacy. Here's the best organization I know of: The Fair Air Association.

FROM READERS

"Hi Diana, I just saw your list of countries that spray on passengers. I was in Mozambique last summer. When I got there, I didn't get sprayed. But upon departure from Maputo the South African Airlines people sprayed us with some insecticide that was supposedly not dangerous to humans. Since I couldn't jump out of the already moving plane I had to 'sit it out.' They didn't spray us again on the way to Zurich, though. I always thought the Europeans would be more paranoid about insects than the South Africans. So, I don't know if that was government or airline policy, but perhaps you might add to the list that anyone leaving Mozambique gets sprayed, too. Thanks (and I love your web site)." -Gabi R.

"I have been a flight attendant with South African Airways for the past 23 years. You can add South Africa to your list as we do spraying on some of our flights. We do it when the doors are closed before the air-conditioning is switched on." -Barry de Kock

"How do you feel about pesticides being applied to airplanes before passengers board? I saw this happen to a Delta plane while in transit at a gate in Atlanta. Jim Cox, spokesman for Delta, stated that they have a contract with ORKIN in 20 cities in the U.S. to spray the airplanes. He stated that this is "usually during the weekends with planes left overnight" and that passengers board approximately 6-8 hours later. He stated that this is all part of Delta's pest management program. All of my family suffers from multiple chemically sensitivity. These pesticides are very harmful to us and to everyone else on the plane." -Sandra J. Williams

"The beauty of the Internet is that it is the frontier of free speech. Public opinion is in your favor. Most people acknowledge the danger of pesticides, even if they use them. More to the point, most people want to retain control of their environment, despite their seemingly sheepish behavior. As you alert them to the extensive and numerous ways in which the airlines and the government compromise that environment and create a disadvantageous situation, they will begin to demand changes. Keep the faith." -Rich LaFond