Only '44 cases' of Covid-19 traced back to air travel, report finds

The risk of catching Covid-19 on board a plane is similar to that of being struck by lightning, a top aviation official has claimed.

The CEO of the International Air Travel Association (IATA), Alexandre de Juniac, also insisted that, while flying is not ‘risk-free’, a plane cabin is significantly safer than other indoor environments when it comes to transmission of the virus.

A new study by IATA has found that just 44 cases of potential coronavirus infections have been traced back to flights since the start of 2020, a tiny proportion of the 1.2 billion people who have travelled by air in the same time period.

Of those confirmed cases, the majority were reported early in the year, before the use of face masks by crew and passengers became common practice.

Citing three separate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tests conducted by aircraft manufacturer Airbus, Boeing and Embraer, the association’s medical researchers have concluded that a number of environmental factors contribute to making viral transmission far less likely in a plane cabin, including High Efficiency Particulate Air filters, the downward flow of air from overhead ventilators, and the natural barriers provided by seats.

Following their respective experiments, both Airbus and Boeing have gone so far as to state that two passengers sitting side by side on board a plane has a comparable transmission risk to two people standing six or seven feet apart in an office.

“There is no single silver-bullet measure that will enable us to live and travel safely in the age of Covid-19,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

“But the combination of measures that are being put in place is reassuring travelers the world over that Covid-19 has not defeated their freedom to fly. Nothing is completely risk-free. But with just 44 published cases of potential inflight Covid-19 transmission among 1.2 billion travelers, the risk of contracting the virus on board appears to be in the same category as being struck by lightning.”

His comments coincide with another report released by aviation analyst OAG, based on a survey of more than 4,000 people, which found that almost 70 per cent of respondents have plans to fly internationally within the next six months.

While 40 per cent of travellers are more concerned about catching the coronavirus in-flight than on any other part of their trip (including at the airport or at their destination), 76 per cent also believe that mandatory use of face masks by passengers and staff is the most effective way to ease fears.