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  3. Medical conditions - Can you fly?

In certain cases, you may need to check your doctor is happy for you to fly before you can travel with us.

This might be because:

  • You have a pre-existing medical condition
  • You have an unstable medical condition
  • You need oxygen onboard your flight 
  • You are pregnant 
  • You have experienced a recent illness, injury, surgery or hospitalisation 
  • You are travelling to seek treatment overseas 
  • You have a contagious disease

Important:

We want you to be as comfortable as possible on your flight, and medical clearance ensures your doctor is satisfied you’re able to take your journey as planned. It’s covered by clause 14 of our Conditions of Carriage.

Our Special Assistance team may request a copy of our Medical Information form or a detailed fit to fly letter to be provided to us, to confirm your fitness to fly. Our teams will assess your fitness to fly based on the international criteria set out by the World Health Organisation, to ensure you travel safely and travel well onboard our flights.

There may be an occasion where our medical team may request for additional information to be provided to confirm your fitness for travel. If it is determined that you require any additional inflight services such as traveling with a medical escort or supplementary oxygen, our Special Assistance team can help to put you in contact with one of our partners, who can help to arrange this for you, subject to an additional fee for the required service. 

Certain medical conditions can be affected by flying, and may require medical clearance, which is written confirmation from your doctor that you are well enough to fly. These conditions include:

  • Heart or blood vessel problems such as a heart attack, heart failure, angina or stroke. 
  • Deep Vein Thrombosis 
  • Breathing difficulties such as chronic bronchitis or emphysema, pneumothorax (a collapsed lung), pulmonary embolism (a blood clot on the lung), or asthma, especially if you may need additional oxygen or use of a nebuliser during your flight 
  • Epilepsy 
  • A recent head injury 
  • Stomach or bowel problems 
  • Cancer 
  • A current infectious disease 
  • Ear or sinus pain 
  • Limb injuries, including fractures 
  • Psychiatric problems 
  • Any recent surgery

For passengers suffering from conditions like heart or lung disease, or blood disorders such as anaemia (including sickle cell anaemia), the lower oxygen levels in the cabin could lead to oxygen deprivation (hypoxia), making additional oxygen supplies necessary.

Additionally, the lower air pressure means that air within the cabin is expanded by about 30%. This could cause problems for passengers who have recently undergone surgery, have abdominal health problems, or blocked ears or sinuses.

If you are affected by any of these conditions, you should check your doctor is happy for you to fly. You should also check with our Special Assistance team in case you require official medical clearance from your doctor before you can fly.

We’re naturally keen to prevent our passengers from falling ill, so have guidelines for travelling with certain conditions.

If you’ve been unwell in the weeks before your flight, please contact our Special Assistance team to check if you’ll be OK to fly.

As the following illnesses can be contagious, we’ve put together some guidance on when you can travel with them. If you are unsure, please contact our Special Assistance department so your individual case can be assisted and supported.

Illness When can you trvel?
Chickenpox 7 days after the last crop of spots providing the spots have crusted/scabbed over and the passenger feels well and has no fever
Cholera When your symptoms have settled, you feel well enough to travel and the public heath authority in your destination country agrees you are fit to travel
Hepatitis A When you feel well enough to travel
Measles 5 days after the rash first appeared
Mumps 8 days after the swelling began. You must feel well and have no fever
Rubella 5 days after the rash first appeared
Shingles If lesions are covered with a dressing. You must be well with no fever and any pain must be well controlled
Tuberculosis If medical evidence proves you are not infectious
Whooping cough Please contact Special Assistance for further advice
Yellow fever Please contact Special Assistance for further advice
Flu Once your symptoms have resolved

As long as you feel well enough to fly, it’s fine for you to travel with these conditions:

  • Hepatitis B or C 
  • Dengue fever 
  • Viral meningitis 
  • Malaria

As long as you haven’t experienced any complications during your pregnancy, you can fly until your 28th week without needing to tell us. Beyond the 28th week, you’ll need to take note of the guidelines below.

Single pregnancy

If you're expecting one baby and want to travel between your 28th and 36th weeks, we’ll need you to travel with a certificate from your doctor. The certificate should state that you have had no complications and your estimated delivery date. We don’t need to see this in advance, but it might be asked for at the airport or onboard. Travel may be delayed or denied if you do not have this if asked.

It's important to remember to include your return travel within these dates.

After your 36th week, you mustn't fly unless there are mitigating circumstances - which you can find listed below.

Multiple pregnancy

If you're expecting more than one baby and want to travel between your 28th and 32nd weeks, again you'll need to travel with a doctor's certificate stating you've had no complications and your estimated delivery date. Travel may be delayed or denied if you don't have your certificate available if asked.

You mustn't fly after the end of your 32nd week. Please do remember to include your return travel date in this time frame.

Travelling after the cut-off date

For travel after the 36th week for single pregnancies, or after the 32nd week for multiple pregnancies, we can only carry you for urgent medical or compassionate reasons, and only on approval from our medical advisors.

We may also ask that a suitable medical attendant accompany you. Please contact our Special Assistance team for more details.

Contact our Special Assistance team

You can contact our Special Assistance team here if you need to discuss this information in more detail, or if you need to let us know about:

  • A complicated pregnancy 
  • A recent Caesarean Section delivery 
  • A recent miscarriage.

We’re alert to the dangers of serious allergies.

If you have any kind of allergy, simply follow these guidelines for a safe and comfortable flight:

  • If you have an allergy that could result in an anaphylactic reaction you should carry your medication, such as antihistamines or an Epi-Pen, in your hand luggage. Check our information on bringing medication onboard. 
  • If you’ve had an allergic reaction in the last 30 days, please contact our Special Assistance team. If you need a specific meal, take a look at our dietary requirements information and make sure you let us know at least 24 hours before your flight. 
  • Just in case we can’t meet your dietary requirements, we recommend you bring your own snacks onboard.

Our nut and allergen policy

We adhere to allergen guidance under European and UK food legislation, which may be different in other jurisdictions. The allergens declared refer to the ingredients only, the food items may contain traces of allergens since they are processed on or with equipment that processes products that may contain allergens.

We cannot guarantee the absence of food allergen or peanut traces in our meals, both on board and at the airport.  A list of food allergens contained in meals served on flights departing from the UK and USA is available on board from your Cabin Crew.

Our suppliers are based all around the world and not every country has the same legal requirements for providing allergen information. On flights to the UK, allergen labelling on pre-packaged items may not reflect all of the allergens required to be declared in the UK. For passengers flying from the USA, we also adhere to the three additional Nuts listed under US Allergen advisory information.

Peanuts are never knowingly included in any of our meals on board. However, our meals are not produced in a nut-free environment so may contain traces.

All other nuts may also be served on our flights to other passengers as part of the menu ingredients and/or the snack service, in any cabin. We also can’t stop other passengers from bringing (or eating) their own food onboard, which may include nuts.

In view of the above, we strongly encourage passengers to take all necessary precautions to prepare for the possibility of inadvertent exposure.

Please take note of the following situations. You cannot fly if:

  • You have been SCUBA diving within 48 hours prior to your flight 
  • You’ve had a general anaesthetic or dental treatment within 48 hours prior to your flight

Use our online contact form

Email: Special_Assistance@fly.virgin.com

Opening hours:

Mon - Fri 09:00 - 18:00 (UK local) 
Bank holidays 09:00 to 17:00 
Sunday and Christmas Closed

 

PDF 559.0KB

The form is in PDF format. If you do not already have it, download the Adobe Acrobat Reader for free now. If you cannot download the form, ask our Special Assistance team to send you a copy.

Related links

Medical facilities onboard the aircraft
Mobility aid or wheelchair
Read the UK Civil Aviation Authority's advice for medical practitioners and passengers

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