Pregnant pilots and cosmic radiation: dose limits and who to ask
Checked against the sources below on 29 October 2026. How these guides are written
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The reference figure for pregnant aircrew is about 1 mSv to the unborn child. EU Directive 2013/59/Euratom requires that dose to be "unlikely to exceed 1 mSv during at least the remainder of the pregnancy" once you tell your employer; the FAA recommends no more than 0.5 mSv a month to the conceptus (AC 120-61B); ARPANSA treats the unborn child as a member of the public, whose limit is 1 mSv. A long-haul sector is typically tens of microsieverts. Ask your AME, AeMC or DAME and your obstetrician.
- EU
- Dose to the unborn child as low as reasonably achievable and unlikely to exceed 1 mSv
- Remainder of pregnancy, from notification
- Euratom 2013/59 Art 10(1), Art 35(3)(d)
- FAA
- No more than 0.5 mSv a month to the conceptus, on top of occupational limits
- Per month (recommendation)
- AC 120-61B para 7c
- ICRP
- Protection for the embryo/fetus broadly similar to the public; airlines should adjust duties after notification
- Remainder of pregnancy
- ICRP 103; ICRP 132
- Australia
- Unborn child treated broadly as a member of the public; public limit 1 mSv
- Pregnancy
- ARPANSA, Flying and health
- Route doses
- London to New York 27.3 µSv; New York to Tokyo 55.1 µSv; Los Angeles to Honolulu 12.2 µSv
- One way, CARI-7, quiet sun
- AC 120-61B Table 2
- Hours to 1 mSv
- At 36,000 ft: about 240 h at 30°S, 600 h at the equator
- Averaged over a solar cycle
- ARPANSA, Flying and health
- Medical certificate
- FAA: not disqualifying in a normal pregnancy. EASA: fly to end of week 26 if the AeMC or AME finds you fit. CASA: certificate suspended after week 30
- Gestation
- FAA AME Guide; MED.B.045; CASR 67.235
What is the radiation limit for a pregnant pilot?
In Europe it is a legal requirement. Article 10(1) of Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom says that once a pregnant worker informs the undertaking, the employer must keep employment conditions such that "the equivalent dose to the unborn child is as low as reasonably achievable and unlikely to exceed 1 mSv during at least the remainder of the pregnancy". Article 35(3)(d) applies that to pregnant air crew wherever crew dose is liable to exceed 1 mSv a year. The protection runs from notification, not from conception.
In the United States it is a recommendation. AC 120-61B says that for a pregnant crewmember, "in addition to the normal occupational limits", the FAA recommends she limit the exposure of her conceptus "to no more than 0.5 mSv per month". The AC expresses conceptus dose as an equivalent dose.
The ICRP takes the same line. Publication 103 says that once a worker has declared her pregnancy, "additional controls have to be considered" to give the embryo or fetus protection "broadly similar to that provided for members of the public", and Publication 132 says airline management "should have provisions in place to adjust duties during the remainder of the pregnancy after its notification". In Australia, ARPANSA says the unborn child "should be treated in broad terms as a member of the public", whose dose limit is 1 mSv, and that less than 1 mSv above background "will not lead to a significant increase in risk due to radiation".
How much dose do typical routes give?
Route and altitude matter more than block hours. The CARI-7 figures in AC 120-61B Table 2 (one way, quiet sun) run from 0.19 µSv for Houston to Austin and 4.06 µSv for Tampa to St Louis, through 12.2 µSv for Los Angeles to Honolulu and 27.3 µSv for London to New York, to 55.1 µSv for New York to Tokyo. ARPANSA's table puts 1 mSv at about 240 hours at 36,000 ft at 30°S and about 600 hours at the equator.
These are effective doses to the adult crew member. The FAA and EU figures for pregnancy are equivalent doses to the unborn child, so ask your operator's radiation protection program how it compares your assessed dose against them. Solar particle events can add dose on polar and high-latitude sectors that routine calculators leave out.
Can you keep flying when pregnant?
FAA: the Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners says "pregnancy under normal circumstances is not disqualifying", recommends that your obstetrician be told about all your aviation activities, and suggests the examiner discuss the third trimester and harness use. There is no fixed cut-off week.
EASA: MED.A.020(b)(5) requires you to seek aero-medical advice from your AeMC or AME "without undue delay" when you are pregnant. Under MED.B.045(b) you may continue "until the end of the 26th week of gestation only if the AeMC or AME considers that she is fit to do so", and a Class 1 holder flies with an operational multi-pilot limitation (OML).
CASA: CASR 67.235 treats a pregnant licence holder's medical certificate as suspended from immediately after the end of the 30th week of gestation until a DAME certifies full recovery. CASA's DAME guideline says to ground yourself once you know and see your DAME before flying again, lists cosmic radiation on long-haul high-latitude flights among the factors to consider, attaches a multi-crew restriction for a Class 1 holder, and has the DAME reassess at least every 2 weeks. The regulation does not stop simulator training at any stage.
Who to talk to
For your medical certificate: your AME (FAA), AeMC or AME (EASA) or DAME (CASA). For the pregnancy: your obstetrician, who the FAA and CASA guidance say should know about your flying. For your dose: your operator's radiation protection or crew dose program, which in the EU must assess crew exposure and tell you your individual dose (Euratom Article 35(3)). For roster changes: your operator, and an occupational physician if it has one.
This guide gives reference figures, not medical advice. The regulation, your authority's medical rules and your operator's procedures take precedence.
Mistakes pilots make
- Assuming the EU 1 mSv covers the whole pregnancy automatically. Article 10 applies from when you inform your employer, for the remainder of the pregnancy.
- Mixing the limits. 1 mSv is the public limit applied to the unborn child; 20 mSv is the adult occupational limit (in any single year in the EU, a 5-year average for the ICRP and FAA).
- Treating the FAA's 0.5 mSv a month as a regulation. It is a recommendation in an advisory circular; your operator's policy decides how it is applied.
- Counting sectors without latitude and altitude. A New York to Tokyo sector is about 290 times a Houston to Austin hop.
- Relying on an app estimate for a pregnancy decision. Use your operator's assessed dose and your aviation medical examiner.
What Off Chocks tracks
- Off Chocks has no pregnancy feature and does not estimate dose to an unborn child.
- With Health turned on, the radiation card shows a rolling 12-month estimate and a monthly series in mSv from your logged route, type-based cruise altitude and time aloft. It estimates your own effective dose from galactic cosmic radiation, scales it by geomagnetic latitude from a dipole model of the Earth's field and leaves out solar particle events, so it is a guide only.
- For the figure that counts, use your operator's dose record and talk to your AME, AeMC or DAME.
Common questions
- What is the radiation limit for a pregnant pilot or flight attendant?
- About 1 mSv to the unborn child. The EU requires it from notification to the end of the pregnancy; the FAA recommends no more than 0.5 mSv a month.
- How much radiation is one long-haul flight?
- Tens of microsieverts: 27.3 µSv London to New York and 55.1 µSv New York to Tokyo one way (AC 120-61B, CARI-7).
- Can a pregnant pilot keep flying?
- Often yes, with medical sign-off. The FAA says a normal pregnancy is not disqualifying, EASA allows flying to the end of week 26 if your AeMC or AME finds you fit, and CASA suspends the certificate after week 30.
- When does the EU dose protection start?
- When you inform your employer. Euratom Article 10 applies from notification for the rest of the pregnancy; EASA separately requires you to seek AeMC or AME advice without undue delay.
- Who should I ask about flying while pregnant?
- Your AME (FAA), AeMC or AME (EASA) or DAME (CASA), your obstetrician, and your operator's radiation protection or medical team.
Sources
- Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom, Article 10 (pregnant workers)
- FAA Advisory Circular 120-61B: In-Flight Radiation Exposure
- ICRP Publication 132: Radiological Protection from Cosmic Radiation in Aviation
- ARPANSA: Flying and health
- EASA Easy Access Rules for Aircrew: MED.A.020 and MED.B.045
- CASA DAME clinical practice guideline: Pregnancy
This is general information from the published research and regulators, not medical advice. For your own situation, ask your aviation medical examiner, an occupational physician or your operator's radiation protection officer. Any estimate in Off Chocks is for your own awareness, not a dosimeter reading.