In a first for France’s aviation industry, a court in Bayonne has recognised breast cancer as an occupational disease. The landmark ruling came in July this year after Sophie Lainault, a former flight attendant who is now in cancer remission, took her case to court.
Inside the landmark ruling
The ruling, seen by Agence France-Presse, recognised the occupational origin of Ms. Lainault’s cancer. The court highlighted the role of night shifts, exposure to ionising radiation at high altitudes and passive smoking, finding that these factors could have contributed to Ms. Lainault’s breast cancer. It also noted the absence of any genetic or lifestyle-related factors that could otherwise explain the cancer.
The 59-year-old had accumulated 12,600 flight hours, 6,500 of them at night, between 1989 and 2019 for Air France. She initially worked as a flight attendant and later as a purser on long-haul flights for the country’s flagship airline. Smoking was permitted on its flights until 2000.
Recalling her struggles to AFP, Ms. Lainault said she fought for two-and-a-half years, with help from activists from the CFDT (French Democratic Confederation of Labour), to secure recognition. Before this verdict, two regional committees that recognise occupational diseases had concluded that no link had been established in her case.
The ruling will allow her to take early retirement, she said. The verdict also ensures that any further treatment she may require will be fully reimbursed by the French health authorities, BBC News reported.
Ms. Lainault’s lawyer, Elisabeth Leroux, said the court’s decision sets a legal precedent. “In France the link between breast cancer and certain hazards has been established for a number of professions, such as nurses… but this is the first time for an airhostess.”
Previously, in 2023, another French breast cancer survivor, a nurse, underwent a similar legal battle. She had worked night shifts for 28 years. Her fight led to the court recognising her cancer as an occupational disease.
Risks of flying
Many scientific studies have examined links between long-term night work, circadian disruption and exposure to ionising radiation and an increased risk of certain cancers.
A study published on August 17 this year in JAMA Internal Medicine found that flight attendants and pilots in the United States had the highest and second-highest proportions of deaths from radiation-related cancers among the 503 occupations studied.
The team, led by first author Vishal Patel, an HMS clinical fellow in surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, examined nearly 13 million U.S. death certificates from 2020 to 2024, covering 503 occupations, including 14,000 pilots and 7,000 flight attendants.
About 6.9% of deaths among flight attendants and 6.7% of deaths among pilots were from radiation-related cancers, according to the analysis. These proportions were higher than those for any of the other jobs that were studied, including nuclear technologists, who are routinely exposed to radiation from non-cosmic sources, according to Harvard Medical School. Aircrew members are also more likely to be diagnosed with certain cancers than the general population, it says.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, aircrew accrue an estimated 3 to 6 millisieverts per year of cosmic radiation, depending on flight paths, an order of magnitude above the estimated 0.4 millisieverts received annually by an average air traveller taking 10 cross-country round trips a year.
A possible precedent
According to the AFP report, breast cancer is the deadliest cancer among women in France, causing nearly 13,000 deaths each year. The World Health Organization estimates that breast cancer caused about 6,94,000 deaths worldwide in 2024.
The French court’s recognition also highlights a wider debate over the health risks associated with night jobs. Before the ruling in July, Denmark had also officially recognised breast cancer as an occupational disease linked to long-term night work. Indian labour laws do not directly address health issues linked to circadian rhythm disruption caused by years of night-shift work.
Ms. Lainault hopes her legal victory will help other women in the future. “It is truly my dearest wish that this opens the way for other women who might not have dared until now,” she said to AFP.
Published – August 28, 2026 02:57 pm IST
