Crews boycott the budget plane that leaks poison fumes

The boycott comes after two stewardesses collapsed on a flight and all seven crew members had to be taken to hospital.

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In another incident, staff had to use oxygen masks and abort the flight after 15 minutes on the same route, from Birmingham to Belfast.

Staff at the budget airline Flybe say lives are being put at risk on its fleet of BAE 146s, the type of plane which is also used by the RAF's Royal Squadron to fly the Queen.

There have been ten leaks of noxious fumes into cabins in the last 15 months, it is claimed.

Poisonous fumes can potentially leak into the cabin of all planes because of the way air is filtered through the engines.

As commercial flights cruise at high altitude where the air is thin, the cabin needs a supply of air to stay at the correct pressure. Some of the air sucked in by the engines is siphoned off to pressurise the cabin.

But this so-called 'bleed air' can include toxic particles if it is contaminated with oil from the engine.

An Air Accidents Investigations Branch probe in 2000 into an incident of a BAE 146 owned by British European - as Flybe was then known - found a number of similar incidents involving Boeing 737, Boeing 757 and Fokker 100 aircraft.

A Flybe flight attendant said yesterday: "I will not get back on the 146 again. I'm angry that my health has been put at risk."

One of the company's pilots said that if he was asked to fly a 146 he would tell bosses: "Go take a walk."

Former Flybe pilot John Hoyte, 52, claims he was forced to stop flying two years ago after being poisoned by noxious cabin air.

Mr Hoyte, who created the Aerotoxic Association to campaign on the issue, said: "Passengers' lives are definitely at risk. They are depending on us to be 100 per cent efficient and we're no way near 100 per cent.

"I refused to fly three times because I felt so ill. I felt intoxicated, very fatigued, I had trouble even speaking and my memory was terrible. It was incredibly dangerous to fly in that state.

"It turned out I had been chemically poisoned. I have been absolutely horrified to find many other pilots have this problem."

An expert warned that pilot could be left unable to cope with emergency situations.

Dr Sarah McKenzie Ross, of University College London, conducted a study into affected pilots.

She said: "We found that they showed evidence of cognitive impairment. It is an accident waiting to happen. I consider the idea of pilots with cognitive deficits of this nature flying extremely alarming."

Tristan Loraine, of the Global Cabin Air Quality Executive, which campaigns for better cabin air quality, said: "The 146 is poorly designed so the problem is particularly acute with that aircraft. I am not surprised Flybe staff are refusing to fly."

It is believed around ten Flybe staff are boycotting its 146s.

Flybe said yesterday it had already planned to withdraw the plane from service by next February.

A spokesman said: "Flybe aircraft are operated and maintained to the highest industry standards."

Manufacturer British Aerospace said the 146 was 'one of the safest commercial aircraft in operation' and its cabin air quality is 'better than the industry standard'.