French Flight Attendant Wins Landmark Breast Cancer Ruling

A flight attendant in France has succeeded in having her breast cancer recognised as an occupational disease, a first for the country's aviation industry, her lawyer and a trade union said. 

The ruling -- which recognised that Sophie Lainault, a former flight attendant for Air France, had frequently worked at night and been exposed to passive smoking -- could pave the way for similar claims, the lawyer and the CFDT union said.

Lainault told AFP



Tuesday she hoped her legal victory could help other women. "It is truly my dearest wish that this opens the way for other women who might not have dared until now," the 59-year-old, who lives in Anglet in southwestern France, said. 

Now in remission, Lainault said she worked for Air France, the country's flagship carrier, between 1989 and 2019 as a flight attendant and later as a purser on long-haul flights, accumulating more than 12,600 flight hours, including over 6,500 at night.