Oxygen masks removed from airline lavatories says Folha

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is slowly implementing the removal of oxygen masks from commercial airline bathrooms according to the website for Brazilian daily Folha da Sao Paulo.

The article published on the site earlier today claimed that Brazilian air carriers are also complying with the modifications done to a reported 6000 U.S. aircraft. TAM, Gol and Avianca are some of the airlines that are undergoing the changes that apparently must be completed by Saturday.

FAA and U.S. intelligence reportedly found that oxygen masks in bathrooms were “being used by terrorists as explosives.” Hence, the FAA recommends that in the event of depressurization crewmembers have permission to come to the aid of passengers in the lavatories and locate a nearby free oxygen mask.

Though Folha claimed that they obtained the information “exclusively” a similar article was also published today on TheStreet.com. That article acknowledges that the FAA alerted regional aviation authorities though it doesn’t specify which countries. Nevertheless, the article details the apparent dangers of oxygen masks in airplane bathrooms:

Most carriers have chemical oxygen generators in the lavatories in case a depressurization event occurs in the cabin while the lavatory is in use. The same type of generator is also provided above each seat and can drop down in the event of an emergency. The difference is that a terrorist or disturbed passenger could conceivably tamper with a lavatory generator while unseen by other passengers.

Image- OC Weekly
Online Sources- Folha da Sao Paulo, TheStreet.com