Brazil and US remove oxygen masks from passenger aircraft toilets

BY RICARDO GALLO, in São Paulo

The FAA (the US Federal Aviation Administration) has quietly ordered the removal of oxygen masks and oxygen supply to the lavatories of commercial airliners in the USA. Following the agency's recommendation, Brazil has also adopted the measure.

The agency and American government intelligence have identified the threat of the devices being used by terrorists as explosives. The FAA refrained from giving further details.

Folha has obtained the information exclusively. Approximately 6,000 American aircraft have undergone the modification over the last few weeks. In Brazil, the instruction was received in the first two weeks of February and affects around 400 aircraft of all commercial passenger airlines --TAM, Gol, Avianca, Azul and Webjet, among others. The deadline for concluding the changes in Brazil is tomorrow.

The airplanes will no longer have oxygen masks in their toilets. If passengers are in the toilet during a depressurization incident, aircraft crewmembers will have to open the lavatories and come to their help. The possibility of this happening is slight, according to the FAA and Anac (Nation Agency of Civil Aviation). At cruise altitudes, approximately 12,000 meters, there is risk of death if passengers spend much time without a mask.

The agencies argue that, in such cases, pilots are instructed to immediately bring the aircraft down to a lower altitude.

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