Air on an aeroplane

THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC has reminded us that having access to clean air
is a global health priority. While industrial pollution has dominated headlines for
decades, COVID-19 brings the conversation indoors. The quality of indoor air—
which way it flows, how much it does or doesn’t allow for pathogens to disperse or
disappear—can make the difference between staying well or getting infected. Among
the interiors repeatedly named as potential hot zones for infections (churches,
nursing homes, and cruise ships) airplane cabins are a focal point of anxiety.
So it’s a surprise to find that the air inside a plane is cleaner than you might think.
Thanks to HEPA filters and efficient circulation on commercial aircrafts, the air you
breathe in flight—though not necessarily entirely virus-free—is much cleaner than
the air in restaurants, bars, stores, or your best friend’s living room. Here’s why you
don’t need to fear the air up there.
How airplane air gets cleaned
Most, but not all, commercial aircraft are equipped with HEPA (High Efficiency
Particulate Air) filters. That means that, on HEPA-equipped planes, the airflow
“mirrors the laminar airflow of an operating room with no or minimal crossover of air
streams,” says Dr. Bjoern Becker of the Lufthansa Group of airlines. “Air is pumped
from the ceiling into the cabin at a speed of about a yard per second and sucked out
again below the window seats.”
About 40 percent of a cabin’s air gets filtered through this HEPA system; the
remaining 60 percent is fresh and piped in from outside the plane. “Cabin air is
completely changed every three minutes, on average, while the aircraft is cruising,”
says Becker. (Lufthansa has a video showing how HEPA filters work.)
Officially, certified HEPA filters “block and capture 99.97 percent of airborne particles
over 0.3 micron in size,” says Tony Julian, an air-purifying expert with RGF
Environmental Group. The efficiency of these filters, perhaps counterintuitively,
increases for even smaller particles. So while the exhaled globs that carry SARS-
CoV-2 can be quite small, HEPA filters effectively remove the vast majority from the
air.
“Typically the number of particles in the air are [sic] really low, the plane is almost a
clean room, because there’s so much ventilation, and very few sources of particulate
generation within a plane,” says Liam Bates, CEO and co-founder of Kaiterra, an air-
quality monitor manufacturer. “[Planes] are actually safer than virtually any other
confined space.”
HEPA filters aren’t on older planes or tiny aircraft, which have less effective filtration
systems. But even the best filters can’t catch every onboard virus particle, and there
are ways airlines, their employees, and passengers can influence their effectiveness.
HEPA’s 99.97 percent filtration effectiveness sounds reassuring, and airline execs
count on that. But the biggest problem with those systems, says Bates, is that the
“filter only guarantees the quality of the air that has passed through it. If the air that
someone breathes in has not gone through that filter, then those numbers don’t
matter.”
That’s why, in addition to good filters, airline cabins also need good passengers. This
means everyone onboard should wear a mask.
That’s both because of masks’ proven protective qualities and the fact that HEPA
filters and rapid-air circulation don’t work at max effectiveness until the plane is
airborne. This means that the sometimes-interminable period between grabbing your
seat and takeoff (or between landing and disembarking) is when you’re most likely to
inhale a cloud of air from a person infected with COVID-19. That stale, warm air you
occasionally notice when a plane is on the ground sitting at the gate or idling might
mean there’s little circulation through those filters.
As with most technology, “HEPA filters should be inspected regularly and replaced
as needed,” says Julian. Holes in the filters or problems with seals, for example, will
compromise their effectiveness. Each HEPA manufacturer recommends the
maintenance schedule for their products, and most airlines change them more
frequently. Even if an airline changed filters less often than recommended, the
International Air Transport Association says air flow through the filters might be
reduced but their particle-trapping capacity would not. Contrary to what you might
think, dirty filters can operate more effectively than clean ones.
Why masking is essential
When we cough, sneeze, and talk, microscopic (and, sometimes, visible) droplets of
saliva escape our mouths. Gravity causes the big ones to fall to the ground (or an
armrest) quickly, but the smaller ones can hang in the air. The SARS-CoV-2 science
is evolving, but there’s now some evidence suggesting that the virus inside those tiny
droplets is infectious.
Wearing a mask the whole time you’re on a plane keeps some of that airborne
saliva—and any virus it has—to yourself. There’s evidence that mask wearing both
protects those around you and reduces the chance that you’ll get infected yourself.
Think of sporting a mask like stowing your laptop during take-off: it minimizes the
chance that air turbulence will cause anyone to get hit in the face with something
harmful.
In the U.S. there’s no law requiring air passengers to wear masks. Each U.S. airline
has implemented its own mask rules (here are American’s, Delta’s, and United’s).
There are multiple reports of airlines strictly enforcing them (Delta banned more than
a hundred barefaced rebels and has returned to the gate to kick passengers off), as
well as ignoring them, or putting the onus on passengers to police those sitting
around them. But there are also stories of people flying without masks (or masks
worn incorrectly), and of flight crews not making people follow the rules.
U.S. airports and airlines are implementing new screening measures to help keep
potentially infectious passengers from making it onto passenger planes. Some rely
on the honesty and ethical behavior of passengers, such as airlines that, during
check in, ask passengers to certify that they have been free of COVID-19 symptoms
for the past 14 days.
Even if everyone who boards a flight is truthful, other passengers still remain at risk
because some 40 percent of COVID patients are asymptomatic and many
individuals in the disease’s early stages exhibit no symptoms at all. Some airlines,
including Qatar Airways, are making masks and face shields mandatory for
passengers and crew. The mask protects others and the face shield helps protect
you (especially from the virus entering your eyes).
Abundant screening measures indicate that airports and airlines are taking COVID-
19 seriously, but experts say such measures aren’t always based on scientific facts.
“Passenger temperature screenings make us feel like we are doing something
tangible to prevent the spread, however, based on the scientific data to date, it is
neither efficient nor effective at identifying COVID-19 patients or reducing the
spread,” says Dr. Daniel Fagbuyi, an Obama-Administration appointee to the
National Biodefense Science Board with experience handling pandemics.
Temperature checks with thermometer guns miss 30 percent of people with fevers.
The biggest risk when flying just might be the airport, boarding, and take off/landing
experience. People in close indoor proximity, perhaps not wearing masks, could
spell infection. Keeping that six feet (or more) of social distance while getting to your
gate, into your seat, or deplaning is probably more important than anything else you
can do (except covering your face).
If you must fly, choose an airline that enforces its own protective rules. At a
minimum, you’ll be less stressed that you’ll have to be a mask enforcer. As of mid-
August 2020, it seems that Alaska Airlines is being the most vigilant of U.S. carriers
about mask wearing.
Blood plasma touted as COVID-19 breakthrough. But does it work?
While Delta, Alaska, Hawaiian and Jet Blue are, for now, keeping middle seats
empty, any resulting COVID protection is likely from fewer people on board, not
whether a stranger is sitting a few inches rather than a foot from you. A much-talked
about Massachusetts Institute of Technology study released August 18, 2020 found
that leaving the middle seat empty on flights decreased a given passengers’ risk of
contracting COVID-19 by a factor of 1.8, but it is not yet peer-reviewed.
On board, minimize contact with surfaces and wash your hands well before touching
your face (including your mask). There’s no need to fly in a HAZMAT suit, however,
says Dr. Ken Perry, an emergency physician in Charleston, South Carolina. “People
would be much better off being fastidious with their mask use rather than worrying
about gloves and other devices.”
Scientists no longer think that touching objects and then touching your eyes, nose,
and mouth with dirty hands is the primary source of COVID-19 transmission.
However, a recent report involving inflight transmission suggests an asymptomatic
person spread the disease via surfaces in the toilet.
Airlines have upped their cleaning regimes, including disinfecting planes with
electrostatic sprayers. And with just-announced emergency approval from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, American Airlines will start treating high-touch
areas (seat backs, tray tables) with SurfaceWise2, a coating said to kill coronavirus
for up to seven days.
In flight, Fagbuyi recommends keeping your mask on as much as possible. That
means avoiding eating and drinking while airborne. Cleaning your hands with
sanitizer onboard is fine, Fagbuyi says, but “wash your hands with soap and water
once you get off” the plane, and especially before removing your mask.
And though it might be uncomfortable, Dr. Joyce Sanchez, medical director of the
Travel Health Clinic at Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin, says
masking up doesn’t affect your oxygen or carbon-dioxide levels. “The overwhelming
majority of people, including those with chronic lung and heart problems, can safely
wear them,” she says.
Turns out the best way to make the skies friendlier right now is to cover up your
smile.

Questions
1. What are the interiors repeatedly named as hot spots for Covid-19 infections?

2. Why is the air on an aeroplane cleaner than you might think?

3. What does HEPA stand for?

4. On a HEPA equipped aeroplane, what does the laminar airflow mirror?

5. At what speed is air pumped from the ceiling into the cabin?

6. What percentage of cabin air is re-circulated through the HEPA system?

7. While the airplane is cruising, how often is cabin air completely changed?

8. What percentage and size of airborne particle do HEPA filters block and
capture?

9. When is the efficiency of a HEPA filter at its greatest?

11. According to Liam Bates CEO and co-founder of Kaiterra, what is the biggest
problem with HEPA systems?

12. What kind of company is Kaiterra?

13. Why is it important to always wear a facemask on an aeroplane before it is

14. How is the effectiveness of a HEPA filter compromised?

15. What percentage of Covid-19 patients are asymptomatic?

16. According to Dr. Daniel Fagbuyi why are temperature thermometer checks
neither efficient nor effective in identifying Covid-19 patients and reducing the
spread?

17. What is the most important thing you can do at an airport while waiting for
your flight and boarding, to prevent the spread of Covid-19?

18. What did the Massachusetts Institute of Technology study about leaving the
middle seat on aeroplane find?

19. For how long does SurfaceWise2 kill coronavirus?

20. According to Fagbuyi, what is the most important thing to do once you get off
the aeroplane?