Before a dive at the most beautiful dive sites in the world - whether in Southeast Asia, in Egypt or in the Atlantic - there are a few hours of flight time for most divers from Europe - often in the form of a long-haul flight - and as much return. That is why the motto is: diving and flying only go well together if you leave enough space between them. And depending on how many dives you have done, how long and how deep they were, that adds up to a few hours. How long should I wait before flying after diving? I have put together the current recommendations for you.

We should be aware that every long flight is stressful for the body: the unpleasant air from the air conditioning, the lower pressure and sitting for long periods of time put a strain on the body. If you feel sick after flying, it's a completely normal reaction of your body to the stress of the trip. Especially after long-haul flights, you sometimes feel exhausted Back pain from flying.

Divers are particularly affected by the effects of flying, as every flight comes with an increased risk of decompression sickness (DCS), as diving insurer DAN warns. Diving is a strenuous hobby. An hour of diving burns the same number of calories as an hour of jogging or two hours of moderate swimming. In addition, diving is often done in warm and sunny holiday destinations. Bottles and... diving equipment transported in the sun. This can put a heavy strain on the organism.

All in all, it puts a lot of strain on the body. It should therefore be a matter of course for divers to have their physical and mental health examined by a diving doctor - even if the diving center is in... Vacation Maybe you don't want to see a medical certificate. A diving medical examination and diving insurance should be a matter of course for every diver.

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Why is flying after diving dangerous?

For everyone who has always wondered why exactly they are after the Diving are not allowed to get on the plane immediately, here is the simple explanation: The pressure in the cabin of the plane is (during the flight) lower than the atmospheric pressure of the earth. You can think of it something like this: During a dive at a depth of only 20 meters, you experience three times the ATA pressure that you have on the surface of the water at sea level.

Speaking from the perspective of your diving depth: After surfacing, you have already reduced your pressure threefold. If you sit down in a plane and it climbs to around 10000 meters, the plane will equalize the pressure in the cabin to some extent - but not completely. The pressure at the maximum flight altitude is around 0,76 ATA. The bottom line is that the pressure change (reduction) from the previous diving depth is four times atmospheric pressure. If the aircraft were to suffer another loss of pressure (very unlikely), you would be subjected to much greater decompression stress.

Flying after diving – How long do I have to wait?

To avoid the stress of decompression as much as possible, you should definitely wait after diving before getting on a plane. But how long exactly do I have to wait after diving? The answer is very simple: it depends on the number, type, length and depth of the dives. Again Diving insurer DAN reported, one should have sufficiently desaturated before boarding an airplane.

As early as 2002, DAN and the Undersea Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) held an intensive workshop to get to the bottom of the problem once and for all - at that time binding guidelines for flying after diving were developed. The results are best presented in a short table, but it is the bare minimum to wait before boarding a plane.

Table – Waiting time after diving and before flying (table)

Waiting for a single dive without decompression	Waiting time for several dives without decompression in one day	Waiting time for several dives on several dive days	The waiting time for dives with decompression
12 hours or more	18 hours or more	18 hours or more	should be well over 18 hours

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Flying after diving – What else you should consider

To ensure maximum safety, divers should stay on the ground longer than the minimum required no-flight time. Only recently, research has shown that after a scheduled flight that is more than 24 hours after the last dive, bubbles can appear in a diver's blood. The diving insurer DAN therefore has an important tip: You should be careful by diving much more conservatively on the last day and after the last dive plan at least a 24-hour surface interval before the flight. On the last day before your return trip you can do a great excursion or a Sightseeing Tour plan ashore.

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Flying after diving – a trip to the mountains has similar effects

My conclusion

Flying and diving are closely linked, especially for holiday divers. And especially anyone who spends more time in the water than on land during a diving holiday has to worry about flying after diving. If you go diving for two days during your two-week vacation, you can usually plan the excursions so that there are several days between the last tour and the flight home. Because the problem is that decompression sickness is tricky.

The problems do not announce themselves with fanfare, but rather appear very suddenly and can be serious, even life-threatening. DAN also reminds you once again that after the last dive, a trip to the mountains - whether by car, plane or on foot - must be planned into the decompression strategy, as the decreasing atmospheric pressure in the mountains has a similar effect on bubble formation in the blood vessels.

What experiences have you had with flying and diving so far? Share your experiences in the comments.