[Flying fitness of patients with infections]

To certify fitness for (international) air flights one must differentiate between target groups, i.e. pilots, cabin crew and passengers and the stage of infection, i.e. acute and chronic phase of disease and (organ) deficiency after infection, respectively. Publications mostly show indefinite terms which makes principles of quality assessment and international harmonization difficult, in some instances even impossible. Whereas certification of fitness in pilots in respect of infectious diseases should ensure a safe travel problems of infectious diseases in cabin crew and passengers are mainly focused on the risk of avoidable sequelae concerning the person itself and of the transmission to other passengers, respectively.