On Airline everytime a passenger trys to board with an oxygen tank Southwest refuses and says that they need to get a medical doctor to clear them to fly without oxygen. Now I imagine the MD approval is so the airline isn’t liable if there’s a medical emergency, but it the no oxygen tank just a Southwest rule or is it most airlines? Is there anyway for people who need oxygen tanks to fly, or are they out of luck?
While not outright banned, the use of personal oxygen tanks is strictly regulated by the FAA
The FAA tightened up rules regarding HazMats, IIRC after the in flight fire caused by oxygen generators some years ago. A small O[sub]2[/sub] cylinder is still a compressed oxidizer, and represents a safety issue.
Airline pilot here …
If you need oxygen, call the airline and tell them that when you make the reservation. The airline will load FAA-approved oxygen equipment onto the plane at your seat, and ensure you have enough for the duration of the flight.
Yes, they do charge for this service. And, no, they will NOT let you bring on your own oxygen, either gaseous or liquid. So don’t think you’ll save money and try to sneak on and then unpack yuor O2 from your carryon.
The airlines and the FAA have been deadly serious about non-aviation approved O2 on airplanes for decades. The events of the last few years have only heightened that concern. A personal O2 bottle, or those now-common liquid O2 carriers are simply bombs waiting to go off. The concern isn’t so much terrorism as it is simple fire safety. Those items are waay too dangerous to be put on a plane with people.
No, No. it’s the other way around. (WAG ?)
People are waay too dangerous to be put on a plane with those items.
I understand how oxygen can be hazardous and I can appreciate the airlines needing to be sure of the maintenance and use history of the cylinders, regulators and so forth, but do they have to make it so expensive?
A few years ago, my father in law wanted to come here. When we found that the airline was going to charge double the fare for their oxygen, the trip was cancelled. IIRC, they were charging something like $200 per cylinder and due to the end-to-end length of the trip, we would need four. Never mind that the VA had just a month earlier set him up with a snazzy new liquid system that most likey was Title 49 compliant.
Man, I came into this thread expecting to learn how to make a backpack jet out of an oxygen tank 
Well in the spirit of Critter’s posting:
I once tried flying with an oxygen tank - but my arms got really tired.
Thank you. 
If it’s any consolation to you, my dad related stories about when he was in the Navy and some fumble thumbs would drop an oxygen cylinder as they were unloading it from a truck. This would invariably snap the valve off, thus causing the cylinder to shoot across the base like a torpedo, and it would easily put a hole in a cinderblock wall, if one happened to be in the way. So, based on that, I’d think one would be able to build their own jet pack. The problem, of course, would be controlling the thing and making sure that you had a soft landing.
Heh. I was half expecting to see “add nitrous oxide.” 
[Personal Experience]
Unfortunately my mother was recently diagnosed with emphysema. She’s trying to take a cruise in the fall. So far her request to bring oxygen with her has been turned down by three airlines. She and my father will probably take a bus to their boarding destination.
[/Personal Experience]
I’ve heard similar stories as Tuckerfan of what happens when the valve snaps off a gas canister, although it was a nitrogen one in the stories I heard. Lots of damage inside the building as the canister flew around. Which is why we never moved them without the big cap over the valve.
And why they come with a cap that screws on to protect the valve.
Moving a cylinder without this cap in place is like fueling a car while smoking.
Exactly. The valve is the weak point of a gas cylinder. The potential physical damage aside, venting that much oxygen into the atmosphere can be explosive. Similarly, nitrogen can asphyxiate you and acetylene can explode. If you want to see on a smaller scale what would happen if you broke the valve, drop a bottle of soda directly on the cap. That should send it flying, with the cap going one way and the bottle the other. You will also have a complete mess on your hands, so I suggest doing this outside with a diet soda.
Heh. Not because of a bad or damaged valve, but simply as an aside: Those canisters can even become deadly projectiles when in the presence of a sufficiently strong magnet.
The commodity doesn’t need to be hazardous. A 4500 psig tank containing breathing air is a potentially lethal projectile, should the valve be damaged. That’s what we teach people in the fire service.
They will ALL turn you down because it’s against the law for you to bring your own oxygen on an airliner. As I said before, the airlines WILL provide the oxygen your Mom needs; it just won’t be as cheap or convenient as what she’s used to.