Ask DAN: How Long Should I Wait to Fly After Scuba Diving?
This is a pretty common question we get diving with guests. “Is it okay if I’m on the morning flight tomorrow?”
Each diver needs to use their own judgement, but here are some of the guidelines from DAN and the Undersea Hyperbaric Medical Society. Keep in mind, most of our shark dives are just a bit deeper than the average safety stop. Typically, divers will not have a significant nitrogen accumulation during our standard shark diving expeditions.
Flying after scuba diving? The experts at Divers Alert Network explain the risks for decompression sickness and the latest guidelines on flying after diving.
DAN and the Undersea Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) held a workshop in 2002 to review the available data regarding post-dive air travel. The following table outlines their recommendations for the absolute minimum time interval you should wait to fly after diving:
| Single no-decompression dive | 12 hours or more |
| Multiple dives in a day | 18 hours or more |
| Multiple days of diving | 18 hours or more |
| Dives requiring decompression stops | Substantially longer than 18 hours |
Source: Ask DAN: How Long Should I Wait to Fly After Scuba Diving?
Diver’s Alert Network (DAN) is an incredible resource for divers. Their membership programs are very affordable and include critical coverage in the event of a diving accident. They also offer dive travel insurance separately which is great option for the traveling diver.
It is generally recommended that you wait at least 18-24 hours after a single dive before flying. This is because when scuba diving, you are breathing compressed air, which can cause nitrogen to dissolve in your body tissues. If you were to fly soon after diving, the reduction in air pressure could cause the nitrogen to come out of solution and form bubbles in your tissues, which can cause a serious condition called decompression sickness or “the bends.”
Great recommendations! Thanks for checking out our blog 🙂