Several short-term health effects of air travel are postulated in the literature. These include the recent events publicized regarding deep vein thrombosis on long haul flights, concern over the transmission of infectious agents in cabin air, foodbourne outbreaks on aircraft, injuries from failing luggage in overhead bins, and the onset of disease endpoints in persons with pre-existing disease. One common example is the development of acute myocardial infarctions (thought to be brought on by the environment of the airliner).

There recently has been some concern over the transmission of tuberculosis from an infected passenger to others on the airplane, or the spread of tuberculosis from endemic areas due to the increased availability of air travel throughout the world. Case reports of infectious individuals traveling on planes and exposing passengers to TB are published. A recent review, though, suggests that transmission to other passengers is not always certain, and no case of active TB has been thought to result from exposure while in air travel.

See: WHO, Tuberculosis and Air Travel: Guidelines for Prevention and Control. (At WEB)