Can you fly with a blood clot?

A person should avoid flying if they have a newly diagnosed DVT due to the risk of related complications during travel, such as part of it breaking free. Healthcare professionals recommend waiting up to 4 weeks from the start of treatment for DVT before traveling.



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Flights lasting 8 to 10 hours or longer pose the greatest risk. In some cases, the DVT will dissolve and go away on its own. However, in more serious cases, it can cause pain, swelling, and warmth of the affected leg, or it can break off and travel to the blood vessels of your lungs, causing pulmonary embolism (PE).

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Take your medications as prescribed “If your doctor has not recommended that you take aspirin daily, it's not suggested that you take it when you travel to prevent blood clots,” Coogan said. “On the other hand, if you do take prescribed blood thinners, you should feel safe traveling.”

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Just as water doesn't flow easily through a kinked-up garden hose, blood can't flow as well through a vein that has a kink. On top of that, changes in air pressure inside the airplane cabin cut down the amount of oxygen you breathe in. Low oxygen in your blood can also make blood clots more likely to form.

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Prevent Blood Clots During Travel
  1. Stand up or walk occasionally. ...
  2. Exercise your calf muscles and stretch your legs while you're sitting. ...
  3. Talk to your doctor about wearing compression stockings or taking medicine before departure if you have additional risk factors for blood clots.


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For people with vein disease (venous insufficiency), traveling short distances isn't usually problematic. But on a plane or car trip lasting several hours, the risk of blood clots, or deep vein thrombosis (DVT) increases.

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