The Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, has ruled that all passengers who require oxygen must be allowed to bring FAA-approved portable oxygen concentrators on all U.S. aircraft with more than 19 seats.

Foreign airlines must also allow portable oxygen concentrators on all flights to and from U.S soil.

This ruling means that if you need oxygen therapy, you still have the freedom to travel wherever you would like.

The FAA approved these portable oxygen concentrators for use:

• AirSep FreeStyle
• AirSep LifeStyle
• AirSep Focus
• AirSep FreeStyle 5
• Delphi RS-00400
• DeVilbiss Healthcare iGo
• Inogen One
• Inogen One G2
• Inogen One G3
• Inova Labs LifeChoice
• Inova Labs LifeChoice Activox
• International Biophysics LifeChoice
• Invacare XPO
• Invacare Solo2
• Oxlife Independence Oxygen Concentrator
• Oxus RS-00400
• Precision Medical EasyPulse
• Respironics EverGo
• Respironics Simply Go
• SeQual Eclipse
• SeQual SAROS

Now, there’s more good news for airline passengers who need to use portable oxygen. The Federal Aviation Administration has approved three more portable oxygen concentrator models for use aboard airplanes, bringing the total number of approved units to 23.

are portable oxygen concentrators allowed on airplanes?

Portable oxygen concentrators are small, portable devices that separate oxygen from nitrogen and other gases in the air and provide oxygen to users at greater than 90 percent concentration.

They do not use compressed or liquid oxygen, which the government classifies as hazardous materials and does not allow in airline passenger cabins.

FAA approved portable oxygen concentrator

The Department of Transportation requires that U.S. airlines and foreign air carriers flying into the United States allow passengers to use portable oxygen concentrators approved by the FAA during all phases of a flight if the unit displays a manufacturer’s label that indicates it meets FAA requirements for portable medical electronic devices.

The Department strongly encourages airlines to voluntarily allow the inflight use of oxygen concentrators even if not labeled as FAA-approved because they pose no safety danger.

How to travel with oxygen on a plane?

Passengers must ensure the unit is in good working order and must be able to respond to the unit’s warning alarms.

They must protect extra batteries in carry-on baggage from short circuits and physical damage. The unit must be properly stowed when not in use.

Carriers also must let passengers operate these FAA-approved concentrators while moving about the cabin whenever the captain turns off the “Fasten Seat Belt” sign.

The FAA is pursuing performance-based standards that will apply to all oxygen concentrator manufacturers and models. The agency intends to publish a notice in the Federal Register and offer the public a chance to comment on the proposal when it is complete.

More on this story

A portable oxygen concentrator is a medical device that helps deliver oxygen therapy to people who have low levels of oxygen in their blood.

These individuals require higher oxygen concentration than available in ambient air.

Portable oxygen concentrators are smaller in size than stationary home oxygen concentrator units and are therefore more mobile.

They are small enough to carry around, most are FDA and FAA-approved for air travel, and can operate on a battery for added flexibility.

What is oxygen concentrator?

A portable oxygen concentrator is dedicated to helping oxygen therapy users, predominately those diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, maintain an active lifestyle, improve their quality of life, and increase their freedom and independence.

Advantages and disadvantages of oxygen concentrator

Some benefits of a portable oxygen concentrator are:

Easy to Use

Many POCs can be a little confusing to operate. There are what seems to be an endless amount of: Wires, Buttons, Switches.

These can make it very challenging to modify your oxygen therapy and will have your device beeping back at you to let you know you’re not doing it correctly. This is why it’s important to use a device that’s user-friendly like portable oxygen concentrators.

An easy-to-understand and clean control panel will allow you to monitor your liter flow and battery life easily. It will also make adjustments as simple as pressing one button on the touch screen control display.

And there are no worries about exasperating battery belts, irritating internal batteries, and confusing connectors. Instead, there’s a lightweight battery that’s very accessible that you can change in just a minute or two.

Oxygen concentrator benefits for healthy person

Proponents of this oxygen “therapy” say it boosts energy levels, increases your endurance during exercise, helps you bounce back more quickly from physical exertion, provides relief from stress and pollution, increases your concentration, helps you relax, and eases headaches and hangovers.

Healthy individuals take in approximately 21% oxygen from the air they breathe. At that level, blood is almost completely (99%) saturated, meaning there is no need for additional oxygen.

“As health professionals, we cannot ethically or morally support providing oxygen therapy to those who do not require it.”

More on this story