Delta Air Lines is overhauling hundreds of engine parts in its fleet after toxic fumes have been leaking into plane cockpits and cabins, causing brain damage to crew members and passengers.
The carrier will replace auxiliary power units on more than 300 Airbus A320 planes as a part of a safety initiative that began in 2022, Delta confirmed to multiple outlets.
The undertaking to replace the engines that provide power on the ground for essential systems like air conditioning and electrical services is over 90% complete, the airline told CBS News.
The move comes as airlines have filed thousands of reports with the Federal Aviation Administration, warning that engines can cause toxic fumes to seep into cockpits and cabins, according to an investigation by the Wall Street Journal.
The number of cases has surged in recent years, with Airbus’s widely used A320 jets at the center of the spike, records obtained by the Journal showed
One Delta jet bound for South Carolina was forced back to Atlanta after thick smoke poured through the overhead vents.
The mayhem sent passengers scrambling for fresh air to breathe.
“Breathe through your clothing, stay low,” a Delta flight attendant told passengers over the loudspeaker at the time as the pilots declared an emergency.
In a separate incident, JetBlue flight attendant Florence Chesson told the Journal she was left with a traumatic brain injury and permanent nerve damage after breathing the fumes on a flight to Puerto Rico.
She recalled feeling as if she was drugged midair, then witnessed a fellow crew member collapse and vomit beside her.
The two were rushed to the hospital after landing.
“I felt like I was talking gibberish,” Chesson told the Journal, recalling how she kept repeating, “What just happened to me? What just happened to me?”
“I felt like someone poured gasoline and lit a match,” Chesson said of how she felt.
Her neurologist, Dr. Robert Kaniecki, compared the damage to a chemical concussion “extraordinarily similar” to those suffered by NFL linebackers after brutal hits.
Kaniecki has treated over 100 flight attendants and a dozen pilots for brain injuries from toxic fumes in cabins over the past two decades.
The doctor claimed repeated exposures are akin to “micro concussions” that prime crews for a major health event — “the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”
Dr. Robert Harrison, an occupational medicine specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, also told the Journal he has treated over 100 aircrew for similar fume-related injuries.
“This is real, this can’t be just all in their heads,” he said.
Meanwhile, United CEO Scott Kirby told CBS News that he has been fixated on the incidents for “over a decade.”
United has a “proactive maintenance program” to track the plane engine’s oil consumption and pressure, proactively replacing APU seals to prevent fumes from entering cabins, the CEO said.
The issue is not a concern on newer airplanes, such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Kirby added.
A Delta spokesperson confirmed to The Post on Thursday that actions have been taken to replace the APUs in the Airbus A320, without citing exact numbers.
The airline maintained that “instances of fumes in the aircraft cabins are rare.”
Delta declined to comment further.
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