Short-haul Flight Research Articles

Fault Detection on Short-Haul or Highly Dynamic Flights Using Transient Flight Segments

Abstract A machine learning-based approach is presented, which allows to detect persistent engine faults after a single flight. It utilizes transient in-flight measurements and a transient engine model. The time series of the residuals between the measured data and the data resulting from performance synthesis is evaluated using moving windows containing at least one transient segment. A continuous wavelet transformation and a pretrained convolutional neural network are utilized on the residuals for feature extraction. The fault detection is carried out via a one-class support vector machine, trained exclusively on nominal engine operation data. Therefore, the approach requires no a-priory knowledge of the effects of engine faults on the in-flight measurements. Under the assumption of persistent faults, all windows of a single flight, which contain at least one transient segment, are considered in order to improve the reliability of the fault detection. This approach is validated using measured data of a small helicopter engine that replicates the dynamic flight of the corresponding model helicopter on a ground test bed. Consequently, step changes as well as complex variations of the shaft power output are considered. Four standard gas path sensors are considered. The one-class support vector machine is used successfully to detect two types of total pressure sensor anomalies. Assuming a typical number of transient segments for an average short haul flight, it turns out that persistent faults can be detected within one flight with a probability of above 90%.

Banning short-haul flights and investing in high-speed railways for a sustainable future?

Long-distance mobility sustainability, high-speed railways (HSR) decarbonization effect, and bans for short-haul flights are debated in Europe. Yet, holistic environmental assessments on these topics are scarce. A comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted on the Paris-Bordeaux transportation options in France: HSR, plane, coach, personal car, and carpooling. The overall ranking on four environmental indicators, from best to worst, is as follows: coach, HSR, carpooling, private car, and plane. Scenario analyses showed that increasing train occupancy decreases the environmental impact of the mode (-12 %), while decreasing speed does not. Moreover, worldwide carbon footprints of electric HSR modes range 30–120 gCO2eq per passenger-kilometer traveled. Finally, a consequential LCA highlighted carbon paybacks of the HSR project. Under a business-as-usual trip substitution scenario, the HSR gets net-zero 60 years after construction. With a short-haul flight ban, it occurs after 10 years. This advocates for generalizing short-haul flight restrictions and investing in HSR infrastructure.

Optimizing the battery charging and swapping infrastructure for electric short-haul aircraft—The case of electric flight in Norway

Recent advances in battery technology have opened the possibility for short-haul electric flight. This is particularly attractive for commuter airlines that operate in remote regions such as archipelagos or Nordic fjords where the geography impedes other means of transportation. In this paper we address the question of how to optimize the charging infrastructure (charging power, spare batteries) for an airline when considering a battery swapping system. Our analysis considers the expenditures needed for (i) the significant charging power requirements, (ii) spare aircraft batteries, (iii) the used electricity, and (iv) delay costs, should the infrastructure not be sufficient to accommodate the flight schedule. The main result of this paper is the formulation of this problem as a two-phase recourse model. This is required to account for the variation of the flight schedule throughout a year of operations. With this, both the strategic (infrastructure sizing) and tactical (battery recharge scheduling) planning are addressed The model is applied for Widerøe Airlines, with a network of 7 hub airports and 36 regional airports in Norway. The results show that a total investment of 4412 kW in electricity power supply and 25 spare batteries is needed for the considered network, resulting in a daily investment of €11700. We also quantify the benefits of considering an entire year of operations for our analysis, instead of just one congested day (7% cost reduction) or one average day of operations (31% reduction) at the most congested airport.

A comparison of the environmental impact of turboprop and turbofan-powered aircraft

PurposeThis study aims to examine turboprop- and turbofan-powered aircraft, with the same seating capacity flying on the same route and trajectory, and investigate their environmental effects.Design/methodology/approachThe integrated aircraft noise and emissions modeling platform developed by EUROCONTROL is used for the calculation of fuel burn, CO2, H2O and other gas emissions (NOx, SOx, CO, HC, soot and other trace compounds) for the per phase of flight.FindingsThe striking findings are that turboprop-powered aircraft offer lower required thrust, fuel consumption and total emissions for a short-haul flight, but turbofan-powered aircraft have lower particulate matter, CO and HC emissions than turboprop-powered aircraft. This study suggests that turboprop-powered aircraft are superior to turbofan-powered aircraft in terms of environmental impact for a short-haul flight.Practical implicationsThe current research conducts comprehensively fuel consumption and amounts of emissions aspects of turboprop- and turbofan-powered aircraft for sustainable development of airlines by a versatile simulation approach and sheds light on airlines intending to create fleets.Originality/valueThe research offers a systematic aircraft selection for investigators, scientists, airline operators, policy analysts and legislators, by a comprehensive computer simulation method that acknowledges consistently the fuel consumption and detailed emissions analysis of turboprop- and turbofan-powered aircraft.

Perspectives on fatigue in short-haul flight operations from US pilots: A focus group study

There are few studies investigating the impact of fatigue in short-haul flight operations conducted under United States (US) 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 117 flight and duty limitations and rest requirements. In order to understand the fatigue factors unique to short-haul operations, we conducted a series of focus groups across four major commercial passenger airlines in the US. Ninety short-haul pilots were recruited through emails distributed by airline safety teams and labor representatives. Fourteen focus groups were conducted via an online conferencing platform in which participants were asked to identify short-haul schedules and operations that they felt: a) elevated fatigue, b) were not fatiguing, and c) were important to study. Data were collected anonymously and coded using conventional qualitative content analysis, with axial coding and summative analysis used to identify main themes and over-arching categories. The six fatigue factor categories identified were: circadian disruption, high workload, inadequate rest opportunity, schedule changes, regulation implementation and policy issues, and long sits. It appears that additional mitigation strategies may be needed to manage fatigue in short-haul operations beyond the current regulations. Future field studies of short-haul operations in the US should investigate the prevalence and impact of these factors.

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant from an infected aircrew member on a short-haul domestic flight, Australia 2021.

In June 2021, when COVID-19 incidence in Australia was low, a COVID-19 (Delta variant) cluster occurred on an 81-minute domestic flight, with an aircrew member as the likely source. Outbreak investigation demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 may be transmitted during short-haul flights and that mask use protected against infection.

Operational availability analysis of short-haul electric aeroplane using polynomial chaos expansion

As a promising solution to green and sustainable aviation, electric aircraft is likely to operate only in short-haul flight routes due to the technical bottleneck of batteries. This paper proposes an efficient methodology of operational availability analysis for electric aeroplane design. A comprehensive framework using trajectory optimisation is built to evaluate the electric aeroplane performance, which integrates the constraints from physical characteristics, airworthiness regulations, and safety requirement. To account for varying environmental conditions, the polynomial chaos expansion (PCE) method is introduced to enable efficient uncertainty analysis. The proposed methodology is applied to a small short-haul electric aeroplane case. The result shows that the performance of electric aeroplane can be predicted accurately by the PCE method with significant reduction of computational effort. The exemplary analysis in Nordic area provides useful information of operational availability subject to environmental uncertainties.

Multimodal Analysis of Eye Movements and Fatigue in a Simulated Glass Cockpit Environment

Pilot fatigue is a critical reason for aviation accidents related to human errors. Human-related accidents might be reduced if the pilots’ eye movement measures can be leveraged to predict fatigue. Eye tracking can be a non-intrusive viable approach that does not require the pilots to pause their current task, and the device does not need to be in direct contact with the pilots. In this study, the positive or negative correlations among the psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) measures (i.e., reaction times, number of false alarms, and number of lapses) and eye movement measures (i.e., pupil size, eye fixation number, eye fixation duration, visual entropy) were investigated. Then, fatigue predictive models were developed to predict fatigue using eye movement measures identified through forward and backward stepwise regressions. The proposed approach was implemented in a simulated short-haul multiphase flight mission involving novice and expert pilots. The results showed that the correlations among the measures were different based on expertise (i.e., novices vs. experts); thus, two predictive models were developed accordingly. In addition, the results from the regressions showed that either a single or a subset of the eye movement measures might be sufficient to predict fatigue. The results show the promise of using non-intrusive eye movements as an indicator for fatigue prediction and provides a foundation that can lead us closer to developing a near real-time warning system to prevent critical accidents.

Individual differences in the temporal progression of motion sickness and anxiety: the role of passengers’ trait anxiety and motion sickness history

The objective of the study is to show that trait anxiety and motion sickness history are responsible for different temporal progressions of sickness in passengers. The level of inflight anxiety and inflight sickness severity was monitored for 124 passengers in a full-motion cabin simulator during a short-haul flight with four different flight segments. Four groups with different characteristics in trait anxiety and motion sickness susceptibility showed different profiles of inflight sickness development. High trait anxiety was responsible for high inflight anxiety and a constantly high level of motion sickness, while passengers with just a motion sickness history showed an increase in motion sickness severity over time. We suggest that trait anxiety and motion sickness susceptibility interact and have an impact on the temporal progression of inflight sickness severity. The analysis of temporal developments of anxiety and sickness are fruitful for understanding the origins of motion sickness, research and individual treatments. Practitioner summary: In a full-motion cabin simulator study with 124 passengers the level of inflight anxiety and inflight sickness severity was monitored. Trait anxiety and motion sickness history were found to have different impacts on the temporal progression of individual sickness severity. Abbreviations: ANOVA: analysis of variance; AVES: air vehicle simulator; hiA/hiM: group with high anxiety and high motion sickness susceptibility; hiA/loM: group with high anxiety and low motion sickness susceptibility;MSSQ: motion sickness susceptibility scale; loA/hiM: group with low anxiety and high motion sickness susceptibility; loA/loM: group with low anxiety and low motion sickness susceptibility; SPSS: statistical package for the social sciences; SSQ-TS: total score from the simulator sickness questionaire; STAI: state trait anxiety inventory

Factors Influencing Competitive Pricing for Airlines in Malaysia

The purpose of this study is to determine the factors that influenced competitive pricing for airlines in Malaysia. A particular route, Kuala Lumpur to Singapore has been selected as the case study whilst observing a comparison of competitive pricing between full service and low cost carriers. This research was derived in response of World’s Busiest International Air Routes report from OAG Aviation Worldwide that shows more than 30,000 flights frequency on average in both directions for international route Kuala Lumpur to Singapore on an annual basis. This study will try to explore the influence in competitive pricing between forecast on demand and product quality. A framework model has been proposed to determine the factors on competitive airlines pricing in Malaysia. The outcome of this study is to assist airlines to develop an effective approach for competitive pricing for passengers to choose their desired air carrier for short haul flight sectors.

Validation of a radiative transfer model with measurements of UV radiation inside a commercial aircraft

A radiative transfer model for the determination of UV radiation on arbitrarily oriented surfaces is validated by spectral measurements taken directly on the inner surface of a cockpit window of an Airbus A321-231 during a flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Málaga, Spain on 23 August 2018. The simulations consider the UV spectral range from 290 to 400 nm and take into account both the measured spectral transmittance of a cockpit window as well as its construction-related orientation. Comparisons are performed for selected route segments with largely cloud-free conditions. The cruising level of the Airbus on these segments was nearly constant between 11.27 and 11.29 km. UV irradiance measurements at the cockpit window give values within a range of 19 and 26 W m−2. The comparison of modelled and measured irradiances show a very good agreement, i.e. the relative differences between simulated and measured values range from −2.1% to +4.3%. In addition, horizontally and vertically oriented sensors are simulated for the same flight. The validation results generally underpin the application potential of the model. As an example of this, UV irradiances incident on differently oriented surfaces, as could occur inside and outside of a future flying taxi on a short-haul flight between Munich and Augsburg at low cruising level, are shown.

Linear Holding for Airspace Flow Programs: A Case Study on Delay Absorption and Recovery

This paper presents a method to introduce linear holding to flights affected by the airspace flow program (AFP) initiatives. Trajectories are optimized at their planning stage in such a way that the program performance is improved in terms of delay absorption before the congested area, and delay recovery at the destination airport. This recovery process is studied by comparing the case where the same fuel consumption is fixed as the nominal flight, with several cases where some extra fuel allowances are considered at the flight planning stage. The effects for AFP delayed flights are thoroughly discussed in a case study followed by a sensitivity analysis on possible influential factors. Results suggest that using the proposed method could partially recover part of the AFP delay, even with no extra fuel allowances (e.g., reducing 3.3 min of ground delay and 1.7 min of arrival delay for a typical short-haul flight). When extra fuel is allowed, however, the maximum delay recovery increases up to 10 min for the studied case, which also proves to be more cost-efficient than current operations, when flight speed is increased after experiencing all delay on the ground.

Improving the operating efficiency of the more electric aircraft concept through optimised flight procedures

The increasing awareness of the environmental risks and costs due to the growing demand in aviation has prompted both academic and industrial research into short-term and long-term technologies which could help address the challenges. Among these, the more electric aircraft has been identified as a key design concept which would make aircraft more environmentally friendly and cost effective in the long run. Moreover, the notion of free-flight and optimised trajectories has been identified as a key operational concept which would help curb the environmental effects of aircraft as well as reduce overall costs. The research in this paper presents a methodology in which these two concepts can be coupled to study the benefits of more electric aircraft (MEA) flying optimised trajectories. A wide range of issues from aircraft performance, engine performance, airframe systems operation, power off-take penalties, emission modelling, optimisation algorithms and optimisation frameworks has been addressed throughout the study. The case study is based on a popular short haul flight between London Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol. The culmination of the study establishes the advantage of the MEA over conventional aircraft and also addresses the enhanced approach to the classical aircraft trajectory optimisation problem. The study shows that the operation procedures to achieve a minimum fuel burn are significantly different for a conventional aircraft and MEA. Trajectory optimisation reduced the fuel burn by 17.4% for the conventional aircraft and 12.2% for the more electric compared to the respective baseline cases. Within the constraints of the study, the minimum fuel burn trajectory for the MEA consumed 9.9% less fuel than the minimum fuel burn trajectory for the conventional aircraft.

The Effect of a Simulated Commercial Flight Environment with Hypoxia and Low Humidity on Clotting, Platelet, and Endothelial Function in Participants with Type 2 Diabetes - A Cross-over Study.

To determine if clotting, platelet, and endothelial function were affected by simulated short-haul commercial air flight conditions (SF) in participants with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) compared to controls. 10 participants with T2DM (7 females, 3 males) and 10 controls (3 females, 7 males) completed the study. Participants were randomized to either spend 2 h in an environmental chamber at sea level conditions (temperature: 23°C, oxygen concentration 21%, humidity 45%), or subject to a simulated 2-h simulated flight (SF: temperature: 23°C, oxygen concentration 15%, humidity 15%), and crossed over 7 days later. Main outcome measures: clot formation and clot lysis parameters, functional platelet activation markers, and endothelial function measured by reactive hyperemia index (RHI) by EndoPAT and serum microparticles. Comparing baseline with SF conditions, clot maximal absorption was increased in controls (0.375 ± 0.05 vs. 0.39 ± 0.05, p < 0.05) and participants with T2DM (0.378 ± 0.089 vs. 0.397 ± 0.089, p < 0.01), while increased basal platelet activation for both fibrinogen binding and P-selectin expression (p < 0.05) was seen in participants with T2DM. Parameters of clot formation and clot lysis, stimulated platelet function (stimulated platelet response to ADP and sensitivity to prostacyclin), and endothelial function were unchanged. While SF resulted in the potential of denser clot formation with enhanced basal platelet activation in T2DM, the dynamic clotting, platelet, and endothelial markers were not affected, suggesting that short-haul commercial flying adds no additional hazard for venous thromboembolism for participants with T2DM compared to controls.

Logistic growth of a surface contamination network and its role in disease spread

Surfaces and objects surround us, and touching them is integral to everyday life. Pathogen contaminated surfaces (fomites) are known to transmit diseases. However, little is known about the ways and speed at which surfaces become contaminated. We found that under certain conditions, the number of contaminated surfaces grows logistically, corresponding to possible rapid transmission of infection. In such a surface network, pathogen can be transmitted great distances quickly—as far as people move. We found that the surface contamination network in aircraft cabins exhibits a community structure, with small communities connected by the aisle seatback surfaces and toilets, which are high-touch surfaces. In less than two to three hours, most high-touch surfaces in the cabin are contaminated, and within five to six hours nearly all touchable surfaces are contaminated. During short haul flight, aisle passengers have higher fomite exposure. This closely matches the spatial infection pattern of one reported inflight norovirus outbreaks. Our model is generally applicable to other crowded settings. The commonly repeated advice to “wash hands frequently” may be replaced in future by more strategic advice such as “clean surfaces right now”, or advice based on who should wash their hands, and when.

Flight time, number of sectors and risk of low back pain among short and medium haul commercial female flight attendants in Indonesia

Abstrak Latar belakang: Nyeri pinggang bawah (NPB) sering dialami pramugari dan dapat membatasi tugas serta tanggung jawab pramugari. Tujuan penelitian ialah untuk mengetahui hubungan antara jam terbang dan faktor lainnya dengan NPB pramugari sipil penerbangan jarak dekat dan menengah di Indonesia. Metode: Studi potong lintang dengan sampling purposif dilakukan pada pramugari sipil penerbangan jarak dekat dan menengah yang melaksanakan pengujian kesehatan di Balai Kesehatan Penerbangan tanggal 5-26 Mei 2014. Data demografi, pekerjaan dan NPB dikumpulkan dengan pengisian kuesioner dan pemeriksaan fisik. Definisi NPB ialah nyeri anamnesis yang pernah atau masih dirasakan pada pinggang bawah 1 bulan terakhir, non-neural, dan tidak terkait cedera akut yang tidak berhubungan pekerjaan. Analisis regresi Cox digunakan untuk mengidentifikasi faktor risiko yang berhubungan NPB. Hasil: Di antara 333 pramugari yang melaksanakan pengujian kesehatan, 287 orang bersedia berpartisipasi, dan 240 di antaranya memenuhi kriteria inklusi. Sebanyak 37,9% pramugari menderita NPB. Faktor dominan yang mempertinggi risiko NPB ialah jam terbang dan jumlah sektor 24 jam terakhir. Pramugari dengan jam terbang 9 jam atau lebih dibandingkan dengan yang kurang dari 9 jam berisiko 82% lebih tinggi mengalami NPB [risiko relatif suaian (RRa) = 1,82; p = 0,000]. Ditinjau dari jumlah sektor 24 jam terakhir, pramugari dengan 4 sektor atau lebih dibandingkan yang kurang dari 4 sektor berisiko 53% lebih tinggi mengalami NPB (RRa = 1,53; p = 0,034). Kes impulan: Jam terbang 24 jam terakhir selama 9 jam atau lebih dan jumlah sektor sebanyak 24 jam terakhir 4 sektor atau lebih meningkatkan risiko NPB Kata kunci: nyeri pinggang bawah, pramugari, jam terbang, jumlah sektor Abstract Background: Low back pain (LBP) often experienced by flight attendants could limit their duties and responsibilities. Aim of this study was to determine the correlation between flight time and other factors with LBP among short and medium haul commercial female flight attendants in Indonesia. Methods: Cross-sectional study with purposive sampling among short and medium haul commercial female flight attendants who conduct medical examination on May 5-26 th 2014 at Civil Aviation Medical Center. Demographic, job and LBP data collected using questionnaire and physical examination. Definition of LBP was historically pain that ever or still felt in lower back in the last month, non-neural, and no non-working related acute injury. Cox regression analysis used to identify risk factor associated LBP. Results: Among 333 female flight attendants who were conducting medical examination, 287 attendants willing to participate, and 240 meet inclusion criteria. There are 37.9% flight attendants experienced LBP. The dominant factors increasing LBP risk were flight time and number of sectors in the last 24 consecutive hours. Female flight attendant with 9 hours or more flight time compared with less have 82% higher LBP risk [adjusted relative risk (RRa) = 1.82; p = 0.000]. Review from number of sectors in the last 24 consecutive hours, female flight attendant with 4 sectors or more compared with less have 53% higher LBP risk (RRa = 1.53; p = 0.034). Conclusion: Nine hours or more flight time and 4 sectors or more in the last 24 consecutive hours have higher risk of LBP Key words: low back pain, female flight attendant, flight time, number of sectors, short and medium haul flight

Principal-Protected Equity-Linked Note

The case puts students in the shoes of a private banker who wants to price a structured note for European high net worth clients with low levels of risk tolerance. The principal-protected equity-linked note (PP-ELN) provides investors with fixed income–like principal protection together with upside exposure to the S&P 500 Index. The students are asked how the bank should allocate the client's money to buy call options and invest in zero-coupon bonds to deliver this PP-ELN and still earn a fee. By adjusting the amount of principal protection or capping the upside potential, the students can calculate whether there is an opportunity for increased upside participation. This financial engineering case can be used to teach put-call parity, option strategies, and Black-Scholes pricing. Excerpt UVA-F-1752 Mar. 10, 2016 Principal-Protected Equity-Linked Note At the end of the year, Mario Casals was flying out of Geneva for a small European country where he was the market leader for a Swiss bank. As a private banker, he provided full-service banking and investment advice to high net worth individuals. His private banking clientele consisted mostly of fairly conservative investors. Many were members of well-established families who had inherited their wealth. Others were entrepreneurs who had taken risks in their businesses but now were more interested in preserving wealth rather than taking large risks in financial markets. The bank used structured notes to cater to its clients' low levels of risk tolerance. Casals had found principal-protected equity-linked notes (PP-ELNs) to be the instrument of choice. The simplicity of the notes was their strongest selling point. These instruments provided investors with fixed income–like principal protection together with upside exposure to a reference asset of their choosing (e.g., an equity index). PP-ELNs were appropriate for investors who desired equity exposure with controlled risk. Investors had a good sense of the minimum amount of wealth they wanted to preserve, and potential returns above this minimum amount were nice to have but not necessary. Investment strategies leaving them with less than the current wealth, however, were not tolerable. Unlike typical insurance policies, PP-ELNs did not require investors to make an upfront payment for the protection they received. Instead, the protection was paid for by giving up their dividend, not receiving interest income, and giving up a portion of the upside gains in the event that equity markets rallied. Casals had reserved the short-haul flight to review again the characteristics of these notes and their pricing features. He had brought with him a short primer on PP-ELNs to refresh the basic concepts (see Exhibit 1). How attractive would these notes be to his private banking clients? . . .

A Study on Potential Standing Cabin Effects in Improving the Competitiveness of Low-Cost Airlines

The main market competition between the airlines today has changed towards the affordability of the offered air transportation service. In other words, airlines are competing to lower their ticket prices as to capture high demands from leisure and business travelers, who are also price-sensitive customers. Theoretically, by having more passengers onboard the aircraft, flight ticket price can be lowered since the imposed operational costs can be shared by more passengers per flight. To achieve this, an idea of standing passenger cabin whereby the passengers are transported in the aircraft cabin in their upright position has been proposed to reduce the operational flight costs and hence the charging ticket price to the passengers. This paper explores the practicality of such idea with an example case study that is focused on domestic flights market in Malaysia. All in all, it can be concluded that the standing cabin idea has a potential to be applied by low-cost airlines servicing short-haul flight markets.

Cervical Artery Dissection Following a Turbulent Flight

Cervical artery dissection is a common cause of stroke in young patients without vascular risk factors and may affect the carotid or vertebral arteries. The risk of spontaneous dissection is higher in those with genetic predisposing factors while other cases may be precipitated by an event involving head or neck movement or associated with direct neck trauma. We present the case of a previously well young woman with a history of migraine who developed internal carotid artery dissection following a turbulent short-haul commercial flight while restrained using a seatbelt. We propose that repetitive flexion-hyperextension neck movements encountered during the flight were the most likely precipitant of carotid artery dissection in this case and review the therapeutic options available.

Short-Haul Flight: Is it a Risk to Pulmonary Embolus?

Introduction Pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) still remains a diagnostic challenge to junior doctors working in emergency departments. Being aware of the condition and its associated risk factors can improve the diagnostic accuracy. Association between passenger travelling long-haul flight and PTE has been well documented; however its association with short-haul flight is very rare and controversial. This case report illustrates the possible linkages between short-haul air travel with the development of classic non-fatal PTE. Clinical feature A young Indian gentleman after travelling four hours on a flight complained of progressive worsening of breathlessness when he arrived at Kuala Lumpur. Clinically he was tachypnoeic and tachycardiac. The electrocardiogram showed T inversion in leads III and aVF, and S wave in lead I. Oligaemia was shown on the chest X-ray and hypoperfused areas were seen on the spiral computed tomographic angiogram. Treatment He was started on unfractionated heparin, switched to low molecular weight heparin, and then warfarin and subsequently admitted to the coronary care unit. Outcome He was discharged well on day 7 after admission with warfarin and medical advice before returning to India. Conclusion Non-fatal PTE is at times difficult to diagnose and requires a high index of suspicion. Its association with healthy passengers of short-haul flight is not well established and this case report illustrates the possibility of linkages.