Fit to fly

We understand that some of our patients may be anxious about traveling during the Covid-19 pandemic and that some of our patients are contacting their travel insurers to discuss holiday cancellations. In turn, insurers may request GP letters to support cancellations based on the patient's medical conditions.

As a practice, we follow the Civil Aviation Authority guidelines (a national standard) on fitness to fly. If you have been asked to provide a GP letter to support your holiday cancellation please visit 

Am I Fit to Fly?

As noted on this site, most patient's medical conditions will still allow patients to fly. For conditions in which flying is contraindicated are listed; we are happy to issue supporting letters.

We will not be able to issue any letters for forwarding cancellations or changes to your holiday plans due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Please note that a charge is applied to all private letters

Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) 

Sedative Prescribing for Fear of Flying Policy

West Quay Medical Centre has taken a policy decision to stop prescribing diazepam outside the terms of its license, including as a sedative for aircraft flights. This policy decision has been made by the GP Partners and will be adhered to by all prescribers working in the practice. The reasons for this can be found below:

  1. Diazepam is a sedative, which means it makes you sleepy and more relaxed. If there is an emergency during the flight, it may impair your ability to concentrate, follow instructions and react to the situation. This could have serious safety consequences for you and those around you.
  2. Sedative drugs can make you fall asleep, however when you do sleep it is an unnatural non-REM sleep. This means you won’t move around as much as during natural sleep. This can increase your risk of developing a blood clot (DVT) in the leg or even the lung. Blood clots are very dangerous and can sometimes be fatal. This risk is even greater if your flight is greater than 4 hours.
  3. Whilst most people find benzodiazepines like diazepam sedating, a small number have paradoxical agitation and aggression. They can also cause disinhibition and lead you to behave in a way that you would not normally. This could impact your safety as well as that of other passengers and could also get you into trouble with the law. This is particularly likely if they are combined with alcohol.
  4. Diazepam and similar drugs are illegal in a number of countries. They may be confiscated or you may find yourself in trouble with the police.
  5. Diazepam stays in your system for quite a while. If your job requires you to submit to random drug testing you may fail this having taken diazepam.


We appreciate that fear of flying is very real and very frightening. A much better approach is to tackle this properly with a Fear of Flying course run by the airlines. We have listed a number of these below.

Do you need vaccinations?

Our Nurses can provide comprehensive travel health advice and arrange for appropriate immunisations. Please arrange an appointment for a travel consultation at least 6-8 weeks before departure if possible. Vaccines need time to take effect and some may require a course over several weeks. (some may be chargeable).

Travel Vaccination Form

Select the region you are traveling to find out more.

Further Travel Information

The following websites will give you additional travel advice

Travel Health for information on vaccinations available on NHS

  • MASTA for private vaccination clinics
  • Gov.uk for specific country travel advice