Report Shows That Chances Are Very Low in Catching COVID on a Flight

The airline industry and travelers from all over the world are celebrating recent data that has been presented by The International Air Transport Association (IATA). According to the organization, you are more likely to get struck by lightning than contract COVID-19 on board.

That statement came after a report showing that there have been only 44 confirmed cases of the disease in which transmission is thought to have been associated with a flight journey. 

During the same period, around 1.2 billion passengers have been inside an aircraft, which means one case for every 27 million travelers.

It’s important to say that the majority of cases happened before the mandatory use of masks and other safety measures were put on place. IATA also states that even if 90% of cases were not reported, the risk of getting sick during a flight is still one for every 27 million. 

That exciting data is not only due to a specific factor, but to a series of them. 

A recent joint report published by Boeing, Airbus and Embraer, has indicated that the low rate of infections inside an airplane is due to:

• Aircraft airflow systems
• High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters
• The natural barrier of the seatback
• The downward flow of air
• High rates of air exchange
• And the use of masks

Together, those factors are capable of limiting the spread of the virus. Because of that, being seated together in an airplane is safer than being in an office space or a classroom for example. 

In addition to the items listed on the research, different measures have been taken to make traveling even safer. Some of them are: managed queuing, contactless processing, reduced movement in the cabin, and simplified onboard service.

Those numbers represent the hope that soon the normality in travel abroad will be reestablished. Another IATA study found out that 86% of recent travelers are confident that the industry’s measures were keeping them safe and were well-implemented.

Unfortunately, tourism rebound is a complex matter that involves other aspects besides the travel journey itself. 

Closed borders, mandatory quarantines, an efficient vaccine, all of those are barriers that need to be overcome before we can explore the world again, which we hope will happen soon.

ORIOLY
on October 14, 2020

by Felipe Fonseca