Too many sky miles could cause cancer, a new flight attendant study has suggested.
Researchers are now suggesting that there may be a link between regularly logging flying miles above 30,000 feet and an increased risk for cancer, according to health and wellness network Z Living.
The Harvard Flight Attendant Health Study surveyed more than 5,000 flight attendants and, when researchers compared the data to the rest of the population, they found that cabin crew were more at risk of developing different types of cancer including breast cancer, melanoma, and non-melanoma skin cancer.
A low number of the flight attendants in the study are overweight or smoke — two factors that are considered to be contributors to cancer.
The job of a flight attendant is often glamorized however, the recent study highlights hidden health risk factors that are often ignored or sidelined.
Researchers noted that flight attendants are exposed on a daily basis to several known and probable cancer risks, including cosmic ionizing radiation, disrupted sleep cycles and circadian rhythms, and chemical contaminants.
According to Z Living, cabin crew members tend to be more at risk of being exposed to carcinogens like jet fuel and other chemicals and are also regularly exposed to dangerous radiation from the upper atmosphere.
Compounding the issue, experts believe that irregular sleeping patterns can lead to cancer and shift workers can suffer damaging health effects as a result of poor sleeping patterns.
Despite these known risks, flight attendants are generally excluded from Occupational Safety and Health Administration protections typically granted to U.S. workers.
Irina Mordukhovich, a research fellow at Harvard Chan School and the corresponding author of the paper, said the study "highlights the question of what can be done to minimize the adverse exposures and cancers common among cabin crew."
"The E.U. already evaluates radiation exposure among flight attendants, which our findings show may be an important step toward lowering cancer risk among this work population," said study author Eileen McNeely.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.