The IAG group member British Airways had to confirm on Saturday that a total of four pilots had died. The exact cause of death has not yet been determined and will be revealed in the course of official investigations. According to unconfirmed reports, they were given Covid vector vaccines a short time before.

Out of consideration for the bereaved, British Airways did not provide any information on the identity or the rank of the pilots. The largest carrier in the United Kingdom only confirmed that the company unfortunately had to mourn the loss of four pilots. At the same time, they denied that there was a connection by saying "however, the claims on social media speculating that the four deaths are linked contain no truth whatsoever".

However, British Airways avoids using the word "vaccination" in official communication and on social media channels, even though it was literally flooded with inquiries from citizens and critical social media sites over the weekend . This is to be seen as a real PR disaster, as it opens up an enormous amount of scope for speculation.

Passengers are generally exposed to an increased risk of thrombosis on long-haul flights, but also on long bus and train journeys. This is simply related to a lack of exercise over a longer period of time and is a phenomenon that is somehow causally related to Corona. For example, people who have a cast foot, for example due to a fracture, are recommended to have regular injections to prevent thrombosis due to limited mobility. Even if they just sit at home and wait for healing.

AstraZeneca itself warns of the side effect of thrombocytopenia

A few weeks ago, AstraZeneca's vaccine was found to have an increased risk of thrombosis. The manufacturer himself gave a so-called in April 2021 in Germany "Red Hand" message and urges medical staff to report suspected cases. Among other things is in the cover letter to read: “(…) thrombocytopenia was included as an adverse reaction with a frequency of common, based on data from clinical trials. Furthermore, thrombosis in combination with thrombocytopenia was recorded with a frequency of very rare (...)".

In this context, more and more doctors are recommending that a certain interval should be kept between vaccination with a vector vaccine and air travel. The regulations that are binding for flying personnel stipulate that after a vaccination - regardless of whether it is Covid, ticks or whatever - a flight break of at least 48 hours must be observed. There are no explicit regulations for passengers, only recommendations from doctors.

It has not been proven whether there is a causal connection between the deaths of the four British Airways pilots and previous vaccinations with vector vaccines. However, it is certain that the pilots were not in the air at the time of their death, but died on the ground. Further investigations must now determine the exact cause before the British Civil Aviation Authority and British Airways have to react if necessary.