Airports and commercial airplanes (as shown above) are likely to have come in contact with CoVID-19, exponentially increasing one’s chance of contracting and spreading the virus (Picture courtesy of Sourav Mishra/Pexels).
Do you remember the days when we could go out and see our friends and family, and not worry about giving them a life-threatening respiratory illness? Yeah, me neither. We all want to get back to that place where we can see the people we love, without giving them a death sentence. But what is keeping us from that?
Well, that would be the reckless actions of some people. The best example of a reckless action at this time would be needless travel, specifically by flight. Usually, if you’re traveling by flight, you are going a far distance. This is a global pandemic people; you really shouldn’t be leaving your house, let alone going on vacation. There are many reasons to refrain from traveling at this point and time, the main reason being travel spreads germs.
Think about it: when traveling by plane, you have to go to the airport, check-in, go through security, then go sit where probably 1000 other people sat before you—and God forbid you have to go to the bathroom! Interestingly enough, while airports are stating that they have increased their cleaning measures, it was found that several high-touch surfaces hadn’t been cleaned in several days. An investigative team at Inside Edition applied an invisible, non-toxic and easily cleaned substance that shows up under UV light to several items touched most frequently in the John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens. These high-touch surfaces included seating, door handles and elevator buttons. When the investigative team returned days later, not a single one of the surfaces they had marked were cleaned.
When going through security, you have to take your shoes, jacket and belts off and place them in those little grey bins. The grey bins are handled by many and just stacked at the end of the line. If you survive the bins, you walk barefoot through the scanner. Also, your bag may not even fit in one of the bins, so it may have to go straight on the conveyor belt. Talk about gross! These are things that you have to touch and go through before you even get on the plane.
Don’t even get me started on the plane. Air travel may be fast and efficient for you, but it is even faster for germs. Think about it, can the cabin crew really disinfect everything before you get on? Well, spoiler alert, the answer is no. The average plane seats a little over 150 passengers. Members of the cabin crew would have to possess super-speed in order to clean all those seats, armrests and trays between the time the old passengers depart and the time the new passengers board.
Another important aspect to note is air circulation. According to a New York Times article, airplanes “recycle 25 to 30 percent of cabin air.” Stated in a previous paragraph of the same article is something congruent: “Viruses like the coronavirus are smaller than the filters,” which means that the air filters on the plane can’t stop the virus. When flying, there is very little chance of getting a fresh breeze, but you know what there is a higher chance of? Catching Joe Schmoe’s cough from a couple seats over, mask or no mask.
There’s also baggage, and I’m not talking about the emotional kind. If you are traveling you usually either have a carry-on, personal item or checked bag. Carry-ons are stored in those cesspools we call “overhead bins.” How often do those get cleaned? In all honesty, they probably don’t. If you have a personal item, those typically go on the floor, under the seat in front of you. Even if the crew had the time to clean the seats, they definitely wouldn’t have time to clean the floor. The floor contains not only the germs from the person who occupied the seat before you, but also the germs from wherever their shoes have been. So, think about that next time you drop something and say “5-second rule.”
Now, you may be thinking ‘checked bags will be better because there are no people down in the belly of the plane.’ You are correct, there are no people to interact with, but there are probably at least 50 other pieces of luggage down there. According to the New York Times article, however, it does state that a German aerospace company found in reducing the amount of on-board luggage, there is less cross-contamination. That being said, I don’t know about you, but I have never washed my suitcase. With the lack of people down there, they probably don’t wash where your luggage goes either.
Once you have landed, you typically retrieve your luggage. The checked bags present themselves on a conveyor belt. That conveyer belt is probably the equivalent to the bathroom floor, and everyone is touching it. When trying to get your bag, you may accidentally touch someone else’s. You give them your germs and they give you theirs, isn’t that lovely?
Now, you may think you are safe once you have left the airport, but no. In a different city, you are far more likely to pick up a virus or infection due to there being different strains. Also, if you are visiting family or friends, you are bringing the germs not only from your city, but from the airport thus exposing them to potentially life-threatening contagions.
Overall, we can see that air travel is germy. But it is worse when there is a literal global pandemic that is killing thousands of people a day. So, mask up, wash your hands and stay home. You do not need to be going on vacation right now; it could cost someone their life. It is our job as humans to protect each other and stop the spread. I think your beach vacation can wait until next year.