Oh dear. Let’s hope international airlines and aviation regulators have not adopted the same drop in screening standards as the FAA
From here:
Pilot Dies Suddenly Shortly before Flying Packed Passenger Jet - Slay News
“A British Airways pilot has collapsed and died suddenly after suffering a heart attack shortly before he was due to fly a packed passenger jet. The pilot, who hasn’t been identified by the airline, died at a hotel in Egypt after collapsing unexpectedly.
He was on his way to Cairo Airport to fly a British Airways (BA) plane back to Heathrow in the UK. There were roughly 200 passengers aboard the flight that the deceased pilot was due to fly.
The pilot was with the rest of his fellow crew members when he collapsed as they prepared to travel to the airport, according to reports. The flight crew gave first aid to their colleague in the foyer of the hotel in Cairo after he had a heart attack.
They performed CPR as they desperately tried to save his life but were unsuccessful. The plane, which was ready to take off for Heathrow Airport, was delayed by the tragedy. However, the passengers on board the jet were blissfully unaware that their pilot had just dropped dead.”
Onwards!
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I did a lot of travelling prior to retirement and was not nervous when flying but I've decided never to board a plane again. It's not just vaxxed pilots that worry me but air traffic controllers, those servicing/repairing/fuelling/loading the aircraft. Even ordering the spare parts. In my early career I worked in defence procurement mostly ordering spare parts for Australia's Mirage fleet before it was retired. You need to have your wits about you to do those jobs. A brain-fogged procurement clerk shipping wrong spare part to equally brain-fogged maintenance guy can have dire consequences. Many screws fit one screw hole and incorrect or incorrectly fitted screws/bolts etc. can have disastrous consequences in aviation industry, even if supply chain is now fully automated.
Air New Zealand also modified it cardiac screening, no longer required until 40yrs from memory.
In line with FAA changes (probably international given the requirement in aviation to keep regulations as harmonized as possible), I think the ECG PR interval has been extended to 300ms.
Reportedly, "A PR interval of less than 200 milliseconds is considered normal, and participants whose interval was longer than 200 milliseconds had twice the overall risk of developing atrial fibrillation, three times the risk of needing a pacemaker, and almost one and a half times the risk of early death."
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2009/06/common-ecg-finding-may-indicate-serious-cardiac-problems/