Regarding the risks of coronavirus transmission on an airplane, “It’s as safe as an environment as you’re going to find.”
More Info, • Studies show that infectious disease transmission can occur on airplanes, particularly if you are seated next to someone who is carrying an illness.\n\n• Some research suggests that airplanes’ highly effective ventilation systems make them safer than other enclosed modes of transportation, like subways.\n\n• But it is difficult to maintain social distancing on an airplane — especially compared with being at home, in an office or at a grocery store., During an appearance on\xa0"Face the Nation,"\xa0Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said that he believed it was safe for Americans to fly during the coronavirus epidemic and that a plane is as safe as any other space., "I don’t think the risk on an airplane is any greater risk than anywhere else, and in fact, you just look at the layered approach that we use. It’s as safe as an environment as you’re going to find," said Kelly., We thought it was important to check this claim. After all, as states lift stay-at-home orders and summer weather starts to roll in, Americans are bound to start thinking about travel and whether it’s safe to fly in the COVID age., We contacted Southwest Airlines to ask for the evidence to back up Kelly’s claim.\xa0A company spokesperson pointed us to this statement -- the\xa0Southwest Promise\xa0– which outlines steps taken by the airline to protect employees and customers from COVID-19. The spokesperson also said that all of Southwest’s flights are equipped with HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filters, which also are used in hospitals to provide patients with clean air., All in all, it seems Kelly has some valid points about the safety of airplanes right now. But he also overplayed his hand., So, how might someone contract COVID-19 on a plane?, As with any setting that holds many people at the same time, there is a risk of virus transmission through the air as well as from high-touch surfaces. On an airplane, that could be a bathroom door handle. And it is easy to picture how this risk can be amplified on a long flight with other travelers., Case studies have shown that disease transmission occurs on flights. In 2003, for instance,\xa016 people\xa0tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS – a coronavirus closely related to COVID, after flying on a plane with a symptomatic passenger. The H1N1 virus, or swine flu, has also been\xa0documented\xa0as having spread between plane passengers. COVID-specific research is ongoing., There are specific issues concerning air travel., Qingyan Chen, a professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University who led Federal Aviation Administration-sponsored research examining infectious disease transmission on airplanes, said his team focused on certain specific ways an illness could spread on an aircraft: by direct contact with sick person, and by inhaling large droplets or aerosols expelled from a sick person., Large droplets are caused by forcing air out of your mouth, such as by breathing, talking, coughing or sneezing. A lot of the droplets are too large to stay airborne long, while others are very small and can stay airborne for hours. The small droplets are called aerosols., Though the air in an airplane is highly circulated, Chen said aerosols can still hang in the air for about three to four minutes before being sucked up by the ventilation system., Aerosols "can be really dangerous. They have the highest risk," said Chen. "The small droplets can get to the seven rows around a sick passenger within four minutes." However, Chen was quick to point out that his studies were focused on other airborne diseases, like flu, tuberculosis and SARS., Airlines maintain that there is\xa0little evidence\xa0that COVID-19 transmission has occurred on planes and that their\xa0ventilation systems\xa0are\xa099.9% effective\xa0at filtering out microscopic particles. There are also\xa0studies\xa0that suggest aerosols have a more limited reach, just two seats laterally and one row in front of and one row behind an infectious passenger., The International Air Transport Association, which represents 290 airlines from 120 countries, sent us details of a\xa0May 5 presentation\xa0by the group’s medical adviser in which he referred to three "studies" — actually two academic journal\xa0research letters\xa0and a\xa0news article\xa0— that showed little or no transmission of COVID-19 on flights that contained passengers who had the coronavirus., One of the\xa0letters, though, discussed a case in which a person flew from the Central African Republic to France and "likely got infected on the plane.", "The research that’s been done over the years is that there’s really not any significant difference in what you would have in a building such as we’re sitting in today, in terms of air quality," FAA chief Steve Dickson said at a\xa0March Capitol Hill hearing., Airlines for America, a U.S.-focused industry trade group, said the industry is "taking substantial, proactive steps to protect passengers and employees," including requiring that passengers and employees wear masks, implementing intensive cleaning protocols and changing policies such as the boarding of passengers from back to front and the reduced frequency of food and beverage services. (Kelly is on the board of directors for Airlines for America.), But is that enough to justify Kelly’s statement that airplanes are as safe as just about any other environment? Not really., The key difference is that you are able to make decisions about how much space to put between yourself and other people in almost all other locations, said Karen Hoffmann, the immediate past president of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology., "There are levels of what you can and can’t do in an airplane," said Hoffmann. "If you’re in your home, you can maintain no one else coming into your space. In the grocery store you can walk away from other people.", Chen agreed. "In offices, you have ample space to stay far apart and keep your social distancing," he said. "But in the airplane, you cannot keep your social distance or else the airliners will not be profitable.", How do the infection-transmission risks of airplanes hold up in comparison with other modes of mass transportation?, "Compared to more cramped and less ventilated settings like subways and buses, the risks of getting sick on an airplane are lower overall — though you still face risk from whatever infections the people in your row may be carrying," wrote Rachel Vreeman in an email. She is the director of the Arnhold Institute for Global Health at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine., But the research on this comparison predates COVID-19 and the impact of social distancing., The longer average length of time passengers spend on airplanes versus mass transit could also make it less safe, Vreeman added., With all of those factors taken into account, Kelly’s statement unravels., Is an airplane potentially carrying an infectious passenger safer than your own home, where the only contact with a stranger you have is grabbing the takeout dinner order left on your porch by a delivery person? Clearly not., It’s clear that airlines do carry a transmission risk for illnesses like COVID-19, especially if you end up seated close to an infectious person. And people have less control over social distancing on airplanes than in other spaces., Overall, Chen said he thought it could be reasonably safe as long as every passenger and crew member wore a mask. He also suggested that passengers wipe down the surfaces around them and wash their hands, but said there would still be a risk., In late April, unions representing\xa0pilots\xa0and\xa0flight attendants\xa0sent letters to the U.S. Transportation Department , the Department of Health and Human Services, Congress and the White House detailing the risks faced by airline workers — as well as the number of infections and even deaths they have suffered — and urging increased safety protections. Shortly after,\xa0most major U.S. airlines, including JetBlue, Frontier, American, Delta, United and Southwest, announced they would now require customers to wear face masks during check-in and boarding, in flight and while deplaning., Hoffmann said that for a flight to be safe it would be crucial for social distancing rules to be in place, such as blocking out seats to space out travelers., "Can you maintain that level of separation in an airplane?" she asked. "I question whether that is something which can be accomplished.", Delta\xa0has started blocking out its middle seats. Some airlines are blocking the seats near where the flight attendants sit.\xa0United\xa0is not allowing customers to select seats next to each other or the middle seats. Both\xa0Southwest\xa0and\xa0JetBlue\xa0have said they will limit the number of passengers to ensure space between them., Vreeman pointed out, though, that there are times on an airplane or in an airport where it might be impossible to maintain the appropriate distance from others., "When someone is walking in the aisle to the bathroom, for example, you might be stuck in close proximity — and that would increase the risks to both of you," she wrote., And while all major U.S. airlines have\xa0announced\xa0increased efforts to disinfect and sanitize planes and\xa0eliminate or reduce\xa0food and beverage service, there is still a danger., "Any time you are removing your mask or putting anything in your mouth, the risk of transmitting or being exposed to the virus will be higher," wrote Vreeman., And, Vreeman argued, we are still in the containment stage of the pandemic, which means moving from one place to another is itself a public health risk., "At this moment in American history, it is still very possible that someone infected with this very contagious virus could be in that space on the airplane with you — or that you could be carrying the virus yourself to a new location," she wrote., The CEO of Southwest Airlines said during a TV interview that the risks of COVID-19 transmission on an airplane are no greater than anywhere else and that "it’s as safe as an environment as you’re going to find.", Research shows that airplanes’ strong ventilation systems do filter out virus particles. However, studies also indicate that some level of risk regarding the transmission of an infectious disease persists, particularly if you are seated near a contagious person. And passengers’ ability to take steps to mitigate that risk is limited., Kelly’s statement contained an element of truth regarding planes’ air filtration and mitigation steps taken by the industry, but he took it a bit too far and left out key pieces of information and context., We rate it as Mostly False., ABC News,\xa0"Delta, American, United to require passengers wear masks,"\xa0April 30, 2020., Afar,\xa0"All Major U.S. Airlines Are Now Requiring Passengers to Wear Face Masks,"\xa0May 1, 2020., Air Line Pilots Association International,\xa0Letter to USG Leaders,\xa0April 24, 2020., Airlines for America,\xa0"Leading U.S. Airlines Begin Requiring Face Coverings for Customer-Facing Employees and Passengers,"\xa0April 30, 2020., Airlines for America,\xa0"COVID-19: How U.S. Carriers Are Working to Protect Travelers,"\xa0April 30, 2020., American Airlines,\xa0"American Airlines Announces Enhanced Cleaning Procedures and New Personal Protective Equipment for Customers,"\xa0April 27, 2020., Association of Flight Attendants-CWA,\xa0"RE: Actions Blunt Spread of COVID-19 through Air Travel, Protect Crew and Passengers,"\xa0April 23, 2020., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,\xa0"Traveler’s Health Yellow Book — Travel by Air, Land & Sea,"\xa0page last reviewed June 24, 2019., CMAJ,\xa0"Lack of COVID-19 transmission on an international flight,"\xa0April 14, 2020., Delta,\xa0"Delta blocking middle seats, pausing automatic advance upgrades and more to enable more space for safer travel,"\xa0April 8, 2020., Delta,\xa0"Delta expands safety commitment by requiring all customers to wear face coverings across travel,"\xa0April 30, 2020., Email exchange with Perry Flint, head of corporate communications USA, International Air Transport Association, May 6, 2020., Email exchange with Katherine Estep, communications director for Airlines for America, May 6, 2020., Email interview with\xa0Benjamin Lopman, professor of epidemiology, Emory University, May 5, 2020., Email interview with\xa0Rachel Vreeman, director of the Arnhold Institute for Global Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, May 4, 5, 7, 2020., Emerging Infectious Diseases,\xa0"Contact tracing for influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus-infected passenger on international flight,"\xa0January 2014., Emory News,\xa0"Researchers determine routes of respiratory infectious disease transmission on aircraft,"\xa0March 19, 2018., Full transcript\xa0of "Face the Nation," May 3, 2020., House Committee on Appropriations,\xa0"Federal Aviation Administration Budget Request for FY2021,"\xa0March 11, 2020., Indoor Air,\xa0"Transport of expiratory droplets in an aircraft cabin,"\xa0January 5, 2011., Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses,\xa0"International flight-related transmission of pandemic-influenza A(H1N1)pdm09: an historical cohort study of the first identified cases in the United Kingdom,"\xa0January 2014., International Air Transport Association,\xa0"COVID-19: How to prevent transmission on board airline aircraft,"\xa0May 5, 2020., International Air Transport Association,\xa0"IATA Calls for Passenger Face Covering and Crew Masks,"\xa0May 5, 2020., JetBlue,\xa0"Coronavirus: Doing our Part — Safety & Service Adjustments,"\xa02020., Nature,\xa0"Is the coronavirus airborne? Experts can’t agree,"\xa0April 2, 2020., New England Journal of Medicine,\xa0"Transmission of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome on Aircraft,"\xa0Dec. 18, 2003., Phone interview with\xa0Karen Hoffmann, immediate past president of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, May 5, 2020., Phone interview with\xa0Qingyan Chen, professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University, May 5, 2020., PNAS,\xa0"Behaviors, movements, and transmission of droplet-mediated respiratory diseases during transcontinental airline flights,"\xa0April 3, 2018., Southwest,\xa0"Enhanced cleaning, physical-distancing measures and equipped Employees,"\xa02020., Stat News,\xa0"The new coronavirus can likely remain airborne for some time. That doesn’t mean we’re doomed,"\xa0March 16, 2020., Thrillist,\xa0"Is It Safe to Fly During the COVID-19 Outbreak?"\xa0April 9, 2020., Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease,\xa0"Probable aircraft transmission of Covid-19 in-flight from the Central African Republic to France,"\xa0April 1, 2020., United,\xa0"COVID-19: What we’re doing to keep customers and employees safe,"\xa02020., USA Today,\xa0"Southwest, Delta, American Airlines reduce food, drink services to combat spread of coronavirus,"\xa0March 25, 2020., The Washington Post,\xa0"Scientists know ways to help stop viruses from spreading on airplanes. They’re too late for this pandemic,"\xa0April 29, 2020., World Health Organization,\xa0"Transmission of communicable diseases on aircraft.", The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter, In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts., Sign me up, District of Columbia\n\n\n\n1100 Connecticut Ave. NW\nSuite 1300B\n\nWashington, DC\n20036, Florida\n\n\n801 3rd St. S\n\nSt. Petersburg, FL\n33701\n727-821-9494
PolitiFact | Southwest CEO’s boast about airplanes’ low COVID risk overlooks key concerns