Sunday, December 1, 2013

What is the oxygen level in a plane?

The other question people ask the most when going into the cabin is how clean or stale the air is inside there. There is an earlier article about that here.

Today we are asking  about adequacy of oxygen in the cabin.


Inside the cabin of an Airbus. Photo by de engineur.


Oxygen level in a plane

Oxygen levels in flight are broadly the same s on the ground, about 210,000 parts per million by volume - hat is about 21%.

However, at cruise altitude the cabin pressure is lower than on the ground at around 82kPa, equivalent to about 1,800m (6,000 ft).

For comparison, air pressure at sea level is 101kPa. At this low pressure, oxygen levels in the blood are lower than at sea level. A healthy person suffers no effects, but those with respiratory illness sometimes need additional oxygen.


Source: TheDailyExpress' Sunlife, December 1, 2013 - pp. 14

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