How Risky is Flying Without a Face Mask?
As governments and Airlines, ease Covid Restrictions, people are now being encouraged to what both customers and staff makes them most comfortable. With that in mind, But how risky is flying without a mask? And how effective is wearing one when others on a plane are not?
Most modern jet aircraft, cabin air is made up of about 50% fresh air brought in from outside and 50% air that has gone through high-efficiency particulate air (Hepa) filters, which are said to be more than 99.9% effective at removing viruses, bacteria and fungi. Thanks to these systems, the cabin air is completely changed every two to three minutes.
Unfortunately “low risk” is not “no risk” and there have been documented cases of Covid-19 transmission on flights, including a domestic flight. In addition due to the difficulty in figuring out when a person became infected, also leaves the likelihood they were infected while traveling. Whether in the Airport, on the Airplane, there is the chance even with the airplanes filters, the person next to you might be sick, and end up spreading it to you. Caution is encouraged.
Many countries have this year scrapped mask mandates for travel. Most US airlines have dropped masking requirements since a federal judge struck down the travel mask mandate in April, while the European Union abolished its mandatory face mask requirement on flights and at airports in May.
The infection rates can be deceiving, due to the wide availability of Home Test Kits that do not report the results of the tests to a reporting agency. So infections may be rising, but you wouldn't see in the total infected people.
The bigger concern, will be now that workers are returning to work, and students are not being required to wear masks, will Covid have a resurgence. It is hard to tell, but we will know when Flu Season arrives, as Covid is more contagious then the flu.
We urge caution, in public places, and to mask when their are large crowds, and in addition, be mindful of your children, who may contact Covid at school. Some masks that can help you stay protected.
