Cabin temperature was one of the issues that APFA raised during the 2018 Cabin Safety Lobby Day and we continue to bring up with lawmakers today.

Currently, there is no temperature standard across the aviation industry for what is considered permissible for passengers and crewmembers to board an airplane. Some carriers set their policy to a maximum of 85 degrees, while many others set maximum temperatures to no higher than 90 degrees, which is the case at American Airlines. One reason this is problematic is because it only ensures that the cabin is no hotter than 90 degrees at the start of boarding. This is to say that if the temperature rises after the first passenger has stepped on the aircraft or because more bodies are on board, according to American Airlines this still meets their 90 degrees policy.

This is particularly miserable for passengers and crew boarding flights in our hot weather bases during the summer. On a humid day, 90 degrees may feel much higher. We have babies, young children, and elderly passengers on every flight. On our flights, extreme heat has been known to cause medical problems before take-off. APFA believes an industry standard should be set. After all, the maximum temperature for pets and animals in pressured cargo holds is 85 degrees. We believe passengers and ourselves deserve, at a minimum, equal treatment to pets.

APFA continues to find a solution with the company but has also had to turn to lawmakers for help. If the company’s policy is creating a miserable and, at times, unsafe environment, we need Congress to regulate and lower the maximum boarding temperature for all US commercial aircraft.