Everybody Flies reveals a truth as inconvenient as smoking causing cancer and climate change and the coverup that is currently going on on the scale of those championed by big tobacco and oil. That truth is, almost every airplane you’ve ever been on has poisoned you. This is through the release of a gas that is both a neurotoxin and carcinogen into almost every cabin or plane over the past 50 years. This gas can cause severe damage to fetal development, lead to long-term vascular, respiratory issues, and an early death.
Now, if this all scares you from every flying again, I don’t blame you, and neither does retired pilot turned director Tristan Loraine and co-director Beth Moran. That is why Everybody Flies doesn’t spare a second of its lean 90-minute runtime. It is chock full of personal accounts and scientific analysis, all prepared with the understanding that despite the absurd horror of this claim, the evidence to back it up is immense. While not the most engaging host, Loraine makes up for it through his determination to learn more about this issue and do everything in his power to raise awareness around this issue.
“…almost every airplane you’ve ever been on has poisoned you.”
Before explaining the science behind this public health crisis, it was clear that this issue meant everything to him. He had to retire early from his job as an airline pilot due to illness caused by repeated poisoning. The airline industry took away his dream job and permanently disabled him, and his new goal is to make sure no one has to go through what he went through again. This personal desire for justice drives the documentary and forms its emotional basis.
So how is everyone on virtually every plane being poisoned by toxic gas? It all has to do with how pressurized air is brought into the cabin. On the overwhelming majority of jetliners since 1970, air is brought in from the jet engine. This is in contrast to a separate electrical compressor, such as on propeller planes and exactly one jetliner model. By getting the air from the engine, the airplane manufacturer saves on the cost of a separate electrical compressor, but in doing so, the air is exposed to extremely toxic and carcinogenic engine fumes. Everything I have just stated is accepted as fact by the industry as a whole and can be found with a quick internet search.
"…isn't about just the airline industry..."
