When is it safe to fly after diving?

People often ask when is it safe to fly? If I book a Sunken Dreams liveaboard that ends on Friday, can I fly on Saturday? If I make a dive on Monday morning can I fly Monday evening? Now, please remember that the question is covered in any beginners (Open Water) diving course. Only thing is, that the recommendations do change, and there are different numbers thrown about - 12 hours? 24 hours? 8 hours? And if you have forgotten this, it might be a good idea to do a refresher course! Here's the current recommendations from PADI (Professional Association of Dive Instructors) and DAN (Diver's Alert Network):

Single dives - A minimum pre-flight surface interval of 12 hours

Repetitive dives or multiple days diving - A minimum pre-flight surface interval of 18 hours

On dive trips, the "single dives" recommendation does not affect you usually. Most Sunken Dreams scuba diving trips that we offer (day trips) include 2 or 3 dives, and liveaboards are all multiple day trips with 2 - 4 dives per day. So the figure you want to remember is that you should not dive 18 Hours prior to flying. If booking a typical 4 day liveaboard to the Gili Islands for example, the final dive of the final day is normally before lunch, after which the boat is cruising back to the mainland. So you are safe to fly by next morning. Some people prefer to wait 24 hours, it's up to you - if your schedule allows, why not have a full relaxing day off before flying out? Be sure to check the itinerary of any trip you book so you know when the last dive will be, and you can plan flights accordingly.

Note: Following these recommendations reduces DCS (decompression sickness) risk but does not 100% guarantee that a diver will avoid DCS. There are of course other factors involved. A major factor in a hot country like the Bay Islands is dehydration - make sure you stay well hydrated when you are on a dive trip.