Should I stay or should I go? Pulmonary embolism and air travel

Many respiratory conditions can affect a passenger's fitness to fly with pulmonary embolism being the most debatable. A major question that respiratory physicians frequently have to answer, mostly with visitors from overseas who need to be repatriated following diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, is about the right time to "fly with a clot". Risk of flying after being diagnosed with pulmonary embolism is not the same for all patients and in every case we should take into consideration the risk stratification on presentation and the PaO2 level.