Coronavirus: What's the safest seat in a flight?
What’s the safest seat in a flight?
Travelling during the pandemic is risky business and carries a certain degree of risk. However, air travel has picked up once again and with people starting to move around amidst the new normal, people still tend to wonder which will be the safest seat in a flight.
How do you maintain distance onboard a flight?
While choosing a seat before the pandemic was all about scoring the most legroom, and amenities, COVID-19 scare has changed everything we know about travelling up in the air. Which place in the plane carries the highest risk for transmission? What do you do to maintain the recommended six-feet distance and most importantly, what's the best way to stay safe on a flight?
We clear a few doubts for you and tell you the best way to travel safely, if you must.
Why passengers should opt for a window seat
While most planes in operation right now are blocking the middle seat in lieu of social distancing, one of the ways to minimize your risk of COVID exposure is by sitting on the window seat.
According to experts, the reason why a window seat is a safe place to sit at is because of the apparent exposure an aisle seat owing to passenger movement. Think about it this way, the more passengers walk across the flight, the more likely they are to touch surfaces and the risk exists the most for those sitting on the aisle seat. With the middle seat curtailed for use, a person sitting on the window seat is less likely to be in touch with germs and contagious surfaces.
The risk of catching viral transmission through any respiratory droplet also comes down to the bare minimum when one is using the window seat, simply because most germs and viruses, which spread through large droplets can't move beyond one-metre distance. This may not be entirely true, but still guarantees a certain benefit to an extent.
Travelling safely during the pandemic
If possible, passengers can also pick seats in the back of the plane, which again carries a low-infection risk. As compared to the front section of the plane, there are lesser chances of people passing by the place.
However, it's still worth remembering that a window seat alone won't mark you safe from infection risk. A lot of it depends on the people you are surrounded by- how close or far you are from an infected person, how infectious they are and sanitary measures followed onboard.
The risk for COVID infection also increases for a person at an airport, or other travel corridors, where there may not be adequate cleanliness, distancing followed, ventilation or a crowded airport with a lot of frequent touch surfaces.
Apart from this, if you specifically cannot avoid travelling, there are certain added measures which can put your mind at rest.
How safe is travelling on a flight during the pandemic?
Travelling outside does bring forward exposure risk. However, a number of studies have said that using a flight during the pandemic is a less risky activity than visiting a grocery store or being in a crowded place.
This is primarily because flights undergo strong safety checks and sanitation measures between trips, which can ensure that the plane is deep cleaned and stripped off possible germs before a passenger travels. Using masks, face coverings and PPE kits for the duration of the flight also cuts down the risk of infection by a big percentage.
Centre of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) , in its recent advisory also said that even though travelling is a risky activity, the risk of viral transmission onboard a flight is on the lower side, because of the way air circulates and filters in an airplane.
What other safety measures should you be taking while flying during COVID-19?
Even though travelling may not be the best measure, if you really cannot avoid taking a flight, here are some of the precautionary measures you should be taking:
-Pregnant women, young children and elderlies, or those belonging to the high-risk category have been advised to avoid travelling.
-Sanitize and clean your baggage, which can be an easy contact surface for any virus to collect on.
-If you are sick, or present symptoms, or stay in a containment zone, travelling can make matters worse for you and your co-fliers.
-Using a sanitizer is an absolute must. Even though airlines do a deep-clean and are following the strongest sanitization, keep a good quality sanitizer on you at all times. From the seats to the headrests, trust on your own disinfecting wipes or solution.
-Avoid touching frequently touched surfaces like doors, knobs, tray tables.