Urgent toxic plane fume warning as passengers and staff suffer 'brain injuries'

Plane passengers and staff have been left with horrifying brain injuries after inhaling toxic fumes on flights.

A probe has found thatjet fuel leaks on board have caused a surge in symptoms similar to CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) - a progressive brain disease which is usually found in men and women who take part in contact sports. "So-called fume events" have been reported to the Federal Aviation Authority in their thousands since 2010, with many linked to Airbus A320 jets.

Florence Chesson, a flight attendant who worked on one of the aircraft, was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and nervous system damage after fumeswere released on board an A320.

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Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, she recalled the flight to Puerto Rico in December 2017, saying the leak started with the aroma of "dirty feet" taking hold through the cabin. She started feeling as though she had been spiked with a drug before another colleague saw her struggling to breathe.

She then started vomiting. When the plane touched down on the tarmac, two of her colleagues were rushed to hospital before the plane set off for another flight.

Florence was left feeling dazed, covered in sweat, and experiencing an overwhelming taste of metal in her mouth. "I felt like I was talking gibberish," she told the outlet. "I remember being very repetitive, saying "What just happened to me? What just happened to me?"'

Over the following months, her symptoms worsened and she was eventually diagnosed with permanent nervous system damage. Her doctor Rober Kaniecki said the damage to her brain was "extraordinarily similar" to NFL players who had suffered CTE from a blow to the head.

Kaniecki has treated 12 pilots and 100 attendants who showed similar injuries after being exposed to fumes in the past 20 years. The Mirror has reached out to Airbus for further comment.

Earlier this year, a British Airways plane packed with passengers was forced to make an emergency landing when several people and crew members were suddenly taken ill thanks to toxic fumes.

Around an hour into the British Airways flight from Dubai, its captain elected to return to the airport as a result of the issue. Once on the ground, emergency services including paramedics and fire fighters were waiting for Flight 0108, the Sun reported.

A passenger told the publication: “It was clear there was little preparation for such an event.” BA said in a statement to the Mirror : "The aircraft returned to Dubai International Airport due to a minor technical issue.

"The vast majority of customers were rebooked onto same-day alternative flights to get them to their destination as soon as possible."