Mile-high hazards

Before you complain about the poor quality of your in-flight meal or lack of leg room when next jetting round the world, spare a thought for the flight attendants who face numerous health hazards every day.

According to research by Carol Boyd, an honours student at the University of Strathclyde's department of human resource management, their main enemy is poor air quality. Symptoms include fatigue, fainting, headaches and skin complaints. She was recently invited to present her findings to the International Transport Workers Federation's annual conference in Dublin. Oddly, the dissertation failed to discuss the danger to flight attendants of runaway trolleys, passengers who initiate in-flight fights over the Atlantic and terrorist bombs.