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KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 9 – In-flight Covid-19 infection data showed that the risk of contracting the disease aboard a commercial passenger jet was at most one in 2.7 million, according to the International Air Transport Association ( IATA) and three aircraft manufacturers.
Citing confirmed cases of Covid-19 infections in flight, IATA, Boeing, Airbus and Embraer said that only 44 cases of the roughly 1.2 billion air travelers have been verified since the beginning of the year.
IATA Medical Adviser Dr. David Powell said this represented one case for every 27 million travelers during the review period.
“We recognize that this may be an understatement, but even if 90 percent of cases were not reported, it would be one case for every 2.7 million travelers. We believe that these figures are extremely reassuring.
“In addition, the vast majority of published cases occurred before the use of face shields in flight became widespread,” Dr. Powell said in a joint statement from IATA and three aircraft manufacturers.
One possible reason why the incidence of Covid-19 infections was low, given that passengers were confined in an enclosed space for prolonged periods, was the airflow designs within the cabins of commercial passenger aircraft.
Modern aircraft were generally equipped with High Efficiency Particulate Air Filters (HEPA) and were designed to induce downward airflow into the cabin to minimize the potential risk of illness.
This was complemented by physical barriers to the seat backs, as well as new measures introduced, such as mandatory face covers and restricted passenger movement.
According to the joint statement, the three manufacturers carried out airflow studies inside their planes to find out how air droplets could spread, accounting for coughs and sneezes.
They concluded that the risk to passengers sitting next to each other was roughly the same as if they were within six feet of each other in a typical office building.
IATA Director General Alexandre de Juniac admitted that the studies did not mean there was zero chance of infection on board any flight.
“But with only 44 published cases of potential Covid-19 transmission during the flight among 1.2 billion travelers, the risk of contracting the virus on board appears to be in the same category as lightning,” de Juniac said.
Airlines around the world have been forced to ground most of their fleets as most countries have closed their borders to non-essential travelers in a bid to contain the Covid-19 pandemic that is halting the world.
This has also brought many of the same airlines to the brink of bankruptcy, including here in Malaysia.
