Experts tell flatulent flyers: Let 'er rip! (And, yes, women's fart worse than men's)

WELLINGTON (AFP) - A group of medical specialists has provided an answer to a dilemma that has faced flyers since the Wright brothers took to the air in 1903: Is it okay to fart mid-flight?

The experts' recommendation is an emphatic "yes" to airline passengers - but a warning to cockpit crews that breaking wind could distract the pilot and pose a safety risk.

The study concluded that anecdotal evidence that flying increases flatulence is not hot air, finding that changes in air pressure at altitude result in the gut producing more gas.

When Danish gastroenterologist Jacob Rosenberg encountered the malodorous problem first-hand on a flight from Copenhagen to Tokyo, he enlisted some of the finest minds in his field to address the issue.