Focus on: Happy feet

No airline crew with sore feet ever gave good service. Julie Baxter explores the science of happy feet

The pressurised cabins of jet aircraft may have been heralded as a great technological advancement for aviation but for those working in this environment it brings challenges for health and wellbeing.

Two companies who know are Skypro, based in Portugal, and Sky Soles in Australia, where personal experience and crew insights are helping evolve the solutions.

Zac Clarke's career as a commercial pilot inspired his family's footwear business to focus on aviation shoes. Undertaking significant research into how the aviation environment impacts human feet, Sky Soles has used its findings to create bespoke crew footwear.

Gas impact

Clarke says: “Humans perform best at or around sea level, where oxygen saturation is high, but aircraft airspeed and fuel efficiency is best at higher altitudes. That requires the pressurised cabin but as air pressure decreases gases in the body expand, impacting wherever it is trapped in the body – sinuses, abdomen and in the gastrointestinal tract. Less well known are the effects of inert gases within the blood stream, and this is where the impact on feet begins.

Clarke adds: “Significant periods of sitting or standing also causes blood to pool in the feet, causing swelling.

Under pressure

Cabin pressure can also work against the already formidable force of gravity to keep fluid in the feet instead of circulating properly. Clarke continues: "Add to this the fact that passengers and crew are often slightly dehydrated from their journey, forgetting fluid consumption. Also, the dry cabin air inside the aircraft constantly wicks away body moisture. Dehydration thickens the blood and can inhibit regular flow, which can also lead to swollen feet. The sodium in onboard food can also cause water retension.”

Skypro, also in this market, uses advanced technology to reduce fatigue, absorb energy and deliver foot comfort and protection. It believes correct weight distribution, special insoles that maintain their cushioning, tightly accurate shoe measurements and good quality raw materials are all essential. Exhibiting at WTCE, it also focuses on temperature control, anti-skid/static, shock absorbing and making shoes alarm free through airport security.

Both companies are on a mission to create happy feet for airline crew. •

Humans perform best

at sea level where oxygen saturation is

high