Portable Oxygen Concentrators That Are Approved For Airline Travel

The FAA allows fliers to bring any of 11 different POCs aboard aircraft and use them, with the approval of the aircraft operator and airline. The POCs are allowed for use aboard commercial airline flights traveling within the United States as well as on international flights that begin or end in the United States. Each Portable Oxygen Concentrator is tested and approved for flight travel.

A portable oxygen concentrator, (POC) also called a portable concentrator is a portable device used to provide oxygen therapy to a patient at substantially higher concentrations than the levels of ambient air. It is very similar to a home oxygen concentrator, but it smaller in size and more mobile. The portable oxygen concentrator makes it easy for patients to travel freely; they are small enough to fit in a car and most of the major concentrators are now FAA-approved.

Passengers are allowed to carry on and use AirSep Corporation’s LifeStyle and FreeStyle; Inogen’s Inogen One; SeQual Technologies’ Eclipse; Philips Respironics Inc.’s EverGo; Delphi Medical Systems’ RS-00400; and Invacare Corporation’s XPO2.

For safety reason, it is strongly recommended that patients that use Portable Oxygen Concentrators on airplane flights carry enough extra batteries that will last twice the duration of the flight to ensure the battery power will not run out during flight. Also make sure your Concentrator is in good working condition before the flight; if it is not, there are many companies that offer Concentrator Rentals to patients. Before your flight, you must obtain a prescription from your physician and submit to the airline that you are flying with.

Some of the popular current airlines that allow Portable Oxygen Concentrators on board are American Airlines, America West, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Frontier Airlines, SouthWest Airlines and US Airlines. Not all airlines allow Concentrators on flights, please check with your airline to make sure that POCs are allowed on the aircraft.