Yesterday we wrote of Delta socially distancing passengers by blocking the middle seat. Well, not everyone agrees. A group representing several American low-cost airlines is seeking federal regulators’ permission to return to crowding passengers into cabins and let’s not worry about the risk of spreading the virus.
Airline trade groups and aviation manufacturers are kicking off campaigns to convince travellers that the risk of being infected by the coronavirus on a flight is low thanks to improved cleaning efforts and sophisticated cabin ventilation systems.
And medical experts tend to agree, with that assessment – with one caveat: The risk goes up as more passengers are crammed into a plane.
Still, the National Air Carrier Association, a trade group for 18 low-cost passenger and cargo carriers, wrote last month to US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, arguing against any capacity limits, including a requirement that airlines leave the middle seat vacant.
The group said that imposing “arbitrary capacity limits on carriers could lead to higher fares or even airline bankruptcies.
The trade group, whose airlines have some of the most cramped seats in the industry, wrote the letter in response to requests from the top Democrats on the congressional transportation committees, that Chao require airlines to space passengers out to reduce the risk of infection.
Chao who is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, has not responded to the request.
Consumer groups have called the lack of rules regarding distancing and the wearing of masks on planes “ridiculous.”
The nation’s largest union of flight attendants is in agreement with consumer groups, asking lawmakers to make masks mandatory on all passengers and, going a step further, ask that for now, leisure and nonessential air travel be prohibited to reduce the risk of infecting flight crews.
“It’s not risk-free to travel on a commercial aircraft but the risk is relatively low,” said Dr. Dean Winslow, an infectious disease specialist at the Stanford University Medical Center and a former flight surgeon with the US Air Force.
Winslow and other healthcare experts say the air in a plane is frequently recirculated, mixed with clean outside air and filtered, making it difficult for germs and viruses to travel throughout a cabin. But the airflow system doesn’t help much, they note, if you are seated shoulder to shoulder with a sick passenger on a long-haul flight.
“Flying on planes is relatively safe from transmission of infectious particulate if you are not near anyone else,” said Dr. Timothy Brewer, a professor of medicine, division of infectious diseases at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. “If they are going to pack the plane … then there is a higher risk.”
Airlines for America, a trade group that represents the nation’s ten largest carriers, recently launched a “Fly Healthy. Fly Smart” campaign to promote the industry’s efforts to reduce the risk of infection on a plane. The campaign also emphasizes that cabin air is filtered through high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters to generate hospital-grade air for passengers.
The International Air Transport Association, (IATA), represents 290 airlines in 120 countries, and as we wrote previously, recently issued a report – “Restarting Aviation Following COVID-19,” that cites several studies which suggest that the number of passengers infected by the coronavirus on a plane has been minimal.
Delta’s chief executive, Ed Bastain, said he plans to test all employees for COVID-19 as the carrier prepares for an increase in demand this summer. Just yesterday we Delta Air Lines has pledged to block the middle seat through September 30, maintaining 60 percent capacity in the main cabin and 50 percent in first class. As demand upticks on certain routes Delta said it will upgrade to larger aircraft when available or add more flights. JetBlue has also promised to keep the middle seat open.
Passenger traffic at US airports began to drop dramatically, starting in mid-March, to a low of fewer than 88,000 passengers on April 14, based on the number of passengers screened by the Transportation Security Administration. On that same date last year, the TSA screened 2.2 million fliers.
Since then, the daily total of passengers screened at US airports has climbed to a high of nearly 353,000 on May 31.
Many of the nation’s airlines responded to the outbreak by adopting increased cleaning protocols and requiring passengers and flight crew members to wear face coverings. Delta Air Lines announced last week that it will keep the middle seats on planes empty through Sept. 30 to help create more distance between passengers. Other carriers, such as JetBlue, have also promised to keep the middle seat open.
Several carriers have either eliminated or reduced their traditional food and drink service to cut down on the interaction with the flight crew.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that any kind of travel can increase the risk of being infected because of the close contact with other people, whether in a cab on the way to the airport or in a security screening line.
The CDC said, “most viruses and other germs do not spread easily in the cabin of planes because of how air circulates and is filtered on airplanes.”
The IATA report listed a study of 1,100 passengers who were infected with the virus and had recently flown. The report concluded that of the 125,000 passengers who flew with the infected passengers, only one additional passenger and two crew members were suspected of being infected due to in-flight transmission.
But the report also cited an investigation into a flight from the U.K. to Vietnam on March 2 that suggested that one passenger transmitted the virus to 14 other fliers and a crew member. Twelve of the infected passengers were seated near the infected passenger.
In essence, the reports suggest that the risk of infection from flying is low because of the high quality of the high level of air filtration and circulation.
However, if you have an infected person sitting beside you, that of course increases your chances of getting COVID 19, to say nothing of the risk you run from the transportation to the airport (cab, Uber, bus, train, subway) to the check in/bag drop off, to the security process, to Immigration and Customs if required, to a wait in the Departure Lounge with your fellow passengers to the boarding and seating process. And of course it doesn’t end there.
But…
“The concept of social distancing is nearly impossible to accomplish in enclosed spaces such as aircraft cabins,” the National Air Carrier Association said in its letter opposing limits on cabin capacity. “Aircraft cabins, however, are safe environments.”
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