The Pack Safe Appeal has persuaded WHSmith to stock the £25 portable alarms. The gadget is now available in 29 InMotion stores – WHSmith’s airport electricals brand – across 14 airports, marking the first time portable CO alarms have been available in retail stores.
The move marks a major milestone in a campaign led by the family of 24-year-old Hudson Foley, who passed away from CO poisoning in August 2023 in a homestay in Ecuador.
On the first anniversary of Foley’s death, his family launched the Pack Safe Appeal in collaboration with the Safer Tourism Foundation. The campaign gained national attention after an appearance on BBC Breakfast in July 2024, leading to more than 2,000 alarms being sold in the first month alone.
Cathy Foley, Hudson’s mother and founder of the Pack Safe Appeal, said: "When Hudson died, we knew we had to do everything in our power to make sure no other family suffered this kind of loss.
"Seeing portable CO alarms in airports - right where travellers can pick one up before boarding a plane - is a huge milestone for us and an incredible step in our efforts to save lives."
Andrew Harrison, chief executive of WHSmith UK Travel, added: "At WHSmith, we offer travel essentials for passengers, and the portable CO alarm is probably the most essential travel item you could own as it may save your life.”
Hudson Foley died of carbon monoxide poisoning while travelling, which led to his family launching the Pack Safe Appeal (Credit: Safer Tourism Foundation)
The Safer Tourism Foundation was set up after the deaths of Bobbi and Christie Shepherd, who died in 2006 from carbon monoxide poisoning in a Thomas Cook hotel. An inquest jury later found they were unlawfully killed.
Safer Tourism estimates there were 28,900 deaths, including non-travel related incidents, owing to carbon monoxide in 2021 alone.
The foundation was set up a year after a coroner’s report into the children’s deaths. It warned more lives would be lost unless CO alarms were made more readily available to travellers. No UK airport retailer has ever stocked them until now.
The victory follows a spring 2025 update to the Foreign Office's travel advice, which now warns about the dangers of carbon monoxide while travelling. The update was prompted by lobbying from Cathy Foley and Surrey Heath MP Dr Al Pinkerton.
The alarms are available at Aberdeen airport, Birmingham airport, Bristol airport, East Midlands airport, Edinburgh airport, Gatwick airport (north and south terminals), Glasgow airport, Heathrow airport (all five terminals), Leeds Bradford airport, London City airport, Luton airport, Manchester airport (all three terminals), Newcastle airport and Stansted airport.
They are also available at London Euston railway station.
