Is Risk Of Coronavirus Transmission Low In An Aeroplane – Free PDF Download

Domestic Flights resumed

• 832* Flights operated on 25^th May
• 600 Flights operated on 26^th May

Troubled take – off

• Weak demand for air travel continued to haunt airlines on the second day of domestic flight operations on Tuesday as most flights saw only 25%-50% seats occupied by passengers, and in some cases this was as low as 7%.
• The resumption of flights was preceded by a day of near-mayhem as airlines parlayed with governments, both at the centre and the states, to sort several issues.

Air travel increases the risk?

• Air travel was possibly the biggest mode of transmission for Covid-19 in February and March (between countries and cities).
• In general, the risk of a viral infection inside an aircraft is thought to be low (compared to other modes of transport), except in cases where healthy fliers are sitting too close to someone carrying an infectious virus.

A320 Seating plan

WHO advisory

• On infections that spread through droplets, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says:
• “Transmission of infection may occur between passengers who are seated in the same area of an aircraft, usually as a result of the infected individual coughing or sneezing or by touch… Highly contagious conditions, such as influenza, are more likely to be spread to other passengers in situations where the aircraft ventilation system is not operating.”

The 2018 Modelling study

• The 2018 study quantified the infection risk based on proximity to an already infected passenger.
• Emory University and Georgia Tech
• The study chronicled the movements of economy class fliers on 10 transcontinental US flights to draw up a transmission model for respiratory disease spread through droplets.

Key Inferences

• The calculated risk of transmission varies, but is very small for most passengers.
• Only in 11 seats (those nearest to an infected person) is the chance of catching the infection high, at 80%-100%.
• For all other seats, the risk is less than 3%, and reduces with distance.
• For passengers seated farther away than 1m, the probability of transmission is less than 1%.
• For a flight attendant who walks the aisle, the risk is between 5% and 20%, according to the study.
• Movement of passengers and crew can play a key role in virus transmission.
• Aircraft Ventilation provides a total change of air 20-30 times per hour.

Middle seat conundrum

• If a passenger is facing forward then the virions coming out sideways have substantially less momentum and will settle more quickly, so the vacant middle seat will provide some protection.
• No scientific justification for this though.

What does the CDC Say?

• According to the CDC, most viruses and other germs do not spread easily on aircraft because of the air circulation and filtration.
• Its advisory states:
• “Although the risk of infection on an airplane is low, try to avoid contact with sick passengers, avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands, and wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.”

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