Traveling with Portable Oxygen Concentrators

As a general rule, the FAA- Federal Aviation Administration- does not allow the use of oxygen devices (oxygen tanks) to be taken on board, because they are regarded as hazardous. However, the FAA has guidelines according to which the use of certain Portable Oxygen Concentrators is allowed.

Oxygen patients should know that the sole allowed therapy method on a plane is the use of a POC -Portable Oxygen Concentrator.

SleepRestfully.com features a great variety of portable oxygen concentrators which are approved by the FAA. Make sure to contact customer service and a friendly and experienced professional will assist you with any question you might have.

• Only a certain number of POCs are allowed to be taken on flight
• Oxygen tanks are 100% prohibited for air travel
• Each air travel company has different provisions- this is why it is important to contact the company and ask before that flight if you are allowed to take a certain model/type of POC on board

List of Portable Oxygen Concentrators approved by the FAA

AirSep manufactured portable oxygen concentrators:

• FreeStyle, LifeStyle, Focus & FreeStyle5

Devilbiss Healthcare manufactured POC:

• The iGo portable oxygen concentrator

Inogen manufactured POCs:

• Inogen One
• Inogen One G2
• Inogen One G3
• Inogen One G4

Invacare manufactured portable oxygen concentrators:

• the XPO2 Oxygen Concentrator
• the SOLO2 device

Philips Respironics manufactured POCs:

• EverGo oxygen concentrator
• SimplyGo POC

SeQUAL portable oxygen concentrators:

• the SeQual Eclipse
• the SeQual SAROS

Important

You can take on board with you non-approved portable oxygen concentrators, as long as these are not used during the flight. For use during travel, only the FAA approved POCs are allowed.

In case the portable oxygen concentrator is not used during flight, the batteries must be removed from the device.

*If the FAA has allowed the use of a certain portable oxygen concentrator, the airline company must allow it too.

*the guidelines set by the FAA generally apply to any flight that is taking off within the USA, including foreign companies.

All the airline companies will typically ask for documentation from your doctor where it is revealed that you need to use our oxygen therapy device during flight. The special medical document must state the following:

• The user of the Portable Oxygen Concentrator knows how to use correctly the device. In case of any audio or visual warnings coming from the device, the patient knows how to deal with these warnings
• The document will also specify whether the portable oxygen concentrator needs to be used all throughout the duration of the flight, or only for a limited time The maxim
• m oxygen flow rate that is needed during the flight
• The user of the portable oxygen concentrator is responsible for the life of the
  battery, There might be certain delays which need to be taken into account. The patients must ensure there is enough battery life available (including the additional batteries too) for the entire duration of the flight + potential delays are take into account as well (up to
  three hours potential delays)