SWISS to replace crew masks after investigation

The crew and passengers were in no danger at any time, the airline said. Keystone/gaetan Bally

National airline SWISS has to replace around 1,000 faulty items of respiratory protective equipment (RPE) for cabin crew. The crew have had to deal with malfunctioning masks in recent in-flight incidents.

Crew members noticed unusual odours on two recent flights and donned their masks as a precautionary measure, SWISS said in a press release on Wednesday. Some masks did not work properly or were difficult to remove from their packaging.

The crew and passengers were in no danger at any time, the airline said. Both flights landed safely and in a controlled manner. As a precautionary measure, SWISS will replace all the PBEs of the model concerned.

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The airline immediately reported the incidents to the relevant authorities. On Wednesday the Swiss Safety Investigation Service published a preliminary report confirming the ongoing investigation.

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