Things You Should Know When Taking a Plane amid the Coronavirus Outbreak
Feb. 10, 2020
As the Spring Holidays come to an end, many travelers who are returning to their places of work are worried that they will be infected with the coronaviorus disease if they take a plane. Is the risk of coronavirus infection high during flight? How to avoid the infection while sitting in the tight cabin? Are airlines and airports taking reliable prevention measures? Now medical experts and airlines and airports staff give you their answers.
Ventilation System of Airplanes Can Filter out 99.99% of Viruses
The cabin of airplanes may seem tight, but it doesn't mean its ventilation is poor.
The ventilation of an airplane in operation has already been factored in during the design process. Usually, the cabin air will be replaced every 2-3 minutes, or 20-30 times every hour.
The cabin is designed to make the air flow vertically to maximize the cleanness and freshness of air inside the cabin. Under normal circumstances, diseases will not spread inside the cabin through the air conditioning system.
Emergency Response Measures
In the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, CAAC has issued notice requiring strengthened ventilation and sterilization of key areas in airports and airplanes.
On the one hand, airlines have all increased their cleaning and maintenance of the air conditioning system of planes. On the other hand, airlines will also clean and disinfect the whole plane before takeoff and after landing.
Flight attendants are in contact with passengers on a daily basis, will they become the source of infection? This is a question many travelers are worried about. In fact, airlines have strengthened the training of flight attendants, requiring them to wear masks during the whole flight and disinfect their hands immediately after touching garbage or suspected contaminants.
To minimize the direct contact between flight attendants and passengers, the airlines also made changes to their meal services and supplies onboard and optimized their service flows.
Will Travelers Be Infected with the Disease While Waiting in the Terminal?
Airports have also taken a series of measures to prevent and control the coronavirus.
Many airports added non-contact body temperature scanners at the entrance of terminals and provided the travelers with necessary hand sanitation and disinfection products. Travelers may notice that now coronavirus prevention advertisements are being broadcast on the information screens of airports, and there are staff checking the health and whether travelers wear mask or not at the waiting area of terminals.
In addition, airports require their staff to wear mask while on the post to protect their safety. Airport staff who have direct contact with travelers, such as security check personnel, must pay particular attention to the sanity and sterilization of their hands.
Travelers Need to Increase Their Prevention Awareness
Travelers should wear their masks during the whole flight. Travelers can carry alcoholic disinfectant wipes or cotton with them so that they can clean their hands or places they may touch at any time. Travelers should avoid using their hands to touch their eyes, nose or mouth during the flight.
While on the plane, travelers should sit in a window seat if they can and avoid walking in the aisle back and forth. After boarding the plane, travelers should try to avoid touching items such as the tray table, window and armrest. These public places better be cleaned with alcoholic disinfectant wipes or cotton if they must be used.
Travelers who are ill, especially those with symptoms of fever or coughing, should postpone their travel until full recovery to minimize the risks of disease spreading.