Airplanes are filled with people and their coughing and sniffing, not to mention you’re bunged into a small cramped space (I’m not looking at you up in the pointy end!) The food is not great, the air is dry, the noise is mind-numbing…
But there are tricks to staying healthy when you fly (long haul)!
If you have a cold/flu/Corona virus, wear a mask – for the sake of the rest of us please – I beg you.
The healthiest seat on a plane
Believe it or not, there are healthier seats to sit on a plane than others – which makes sense when you read why.
At least once on every flight I’ve been on, usually when I’m finally asleep, some bloke (it’s always a bloke) lets out the loudest sneeze in the world. You know it’s loud when it jolts you awake over the din of the engine noise! Sneezing and coughing is a frequent occurrence on a plane.
Aside: if you are sneezing or coughing, you should wear a mask. I will glare at you if you don’t. Chinese people have always operated this way. The ones you see in masks are keeping the rest of us from catching what they’ve got. So please minimise the risk to those round you, whether it’s just a common cold or an infectious virus by keeping your germs to yourself.
But back to the healthiest seat on the plane…
Let’s presume your plane is configured 3-3 (or 3-3-3 if you are travelling long haul). The healthiest place to sit is the window seat. Why? Because statistically the aisle people get up and move about more, plus all the passengers that come and go to the bathroom or to stretch their legs will be brushing past you.
If you want some tips for scoring this seat without paying for it, you’ll like my post on 3 tips for getting the best seats on a plane.
I read a study from Emory and Georgia Tech researchers published in March 2019 that found sick passengers will most likely not transmit droplet-spread infections to passengers seated more than two seats beside them and one row in front or in back. Ergo, the more tucked away you are, the safer you will be from flying germs.
They did a study from flights flying the five to six-hour route from East to West coast USA and found that about 80% of those in aisle seats got up during the flight, 60% in middle seats, and 40% in window seats got up and moved around.
Turn your air vent on you
Another tip: If your seat has a personal air vent above, turn it on and blow it on you. It’s a myth that airplanes recycle dirty air. In fact the filtration systems they use are quite advanced so blowing clean air onto your face can actually provide a cone of protection. You’ll need to keep your hydration up because it is a dry air.
The germiest parts of a plane!
A company called Marketplace, in Canada, took 18 flights and examined 100 samples collected from the seatbelt, tray table, headrest, seat pocket and washroom handle. The results are revolting!
They found that nearly half of the surfaces swabbed contained levels of bacteria or yeast and mould that could put a person at risk of infection. The most contaminated surface was the headrest. They also found e-coli – yep, faeces – in the seat pocket.
They found traces of Staphylococcus on the tray tables, which implies they haven’t been cleaned with an antibacterial cleaner for a long time. I even read that planes don’t carry cleaner on board due to the flammable risk.
So how did these germs get there?
Because disgusting people do disgusting things on planes! Cabin crew and cleaners have reported finding everything from dirty nappies to used tampons in seat pockets! I can’t even.
How to ensure your seat area is clean
Just like hotel rooms, planes are often poorly cleaned due to the quick turn around time between flights, and are likely to be covered in icky germs – coronavirus or not!
Here is supermodel Naomi Campbell’s cleaning routine on every plane she flies on. I’m taking a leaf!
Wipe everything you’ll touch!
Take a little packet of antibacterial wipes and give your area a thorough once-over (and take a rubbish bag/plastic bag to dispose of your cloths. Do NOT give it to the air crew to dispose of. If it really does have contagious germs on it, you’ll have defeated the whole purpose of the wipes!)
Hand sanitiser is useful for all travel after you’ve been touching trolly handles, door handles, car doors…
I note Naomi also takes her own blanket and puts it on her chair. She even says she buys them at the airport and only uses them a few times. Ok, we of lower means don’t need to be quite so extravagant and can quite happily wash and reuse ours!
Here are some comfy Cabeau travel blankets that can fold up into a pillow and has its own little handle. I sell them in my Travel Store for shipping NZ-wide, or you can pick one up on Amazon.
I always travel with my own Cabeau memory foam travel pillow – and get sleep in economy! The cover is washable and it also means I don’t need to use the maybe-not-so-clean airplane pillow.
So the upshot of all this, coronavirus or not, is let’s all take a lesson from Naomi Campbell and give our seat and it’s surrounds (including air vent, remote control, seat belt buckle, tray table and head rest) a bloody good wipe down!
You might also like:
If you’re heading off on a long haul flight soon, here are some of my best suggestions and top tips for coping on a 15-17 hour+ flight!
And this is by far my most popular post on the blog: 23 things NOT to do on a cruise!