French flight attendant wins case recognising breast cancer as occupational disease

A French court has definitively acknowledged cosmic radiation as a contributing factor to breast cancer in a long-serving flight attendant. Sophie Lainault, a 59-year-old former Air France stewardess, sought to have her cancer classified as an occupational disease caused by her work conditions. The landmark ruling in Bayonne, a southwestern French town, identified cosmic radiation as one of three carcinogenic hazards linked to her profession, the others being passive smoking and prolonged night shifts.

Smoking had been permitted on Air France flights until 2000. This decision enables Lainault, who is in remission, to retire early with reimbursed treatments through the French healthcare system. Furthermore, it sets the stage for numerous similar claims from other flight crews. Lainault worked for Air France for 30 years, accumulating 12,600 flight hours between 1989 and 2019, with more than half of those hours accumulated during nighttime hours.

She frequently flew long-distance high-altitude routes from Paris, often near the North Pole, where cosmic radiation exposure is most intense. A recent Harvard Medical School study revealed that flight attendants and pilots suffer from the highest radiation-related cancer rates among over 500 professions, with about 6.9% of their deaths attributed to radiation-induced cancers, compared to 6.7% among pilots.

These figures are higher than those of other high-risk professions such as nuclear technologists, who, despite regular radiation exposure, rank 12th on the list. In France, the connection between breast cancer and certain hazards has been established for professions like nursing, but this marks the first official recognition in the context of flight attendants.

Lainault's attorney, Elisabeth Leroux, highlighted that this ruling is the first of its kind for a flight attendant. Air France maintained that it played no role in Lainault’s legal proceedings and had not reviewed the court's decision. The company reiterated its commitment to the health and safety of its staff, emphasizing that every employee receives medical care far exceeding regulatory requirements.