Due to high airflow and air filter efficiency in airplanes, most viruses, such as the COVID-19 virus, do not spread easily on flights. Wearing masks on airplanes is likely to have also helped reduce the risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus on flights. The risk of contracting COVID-19 on a flight is low. However, there are some precautions you can take to further reduce your risk.
Because travel can increase a person's chances of contracting and spreading COVID-19, guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on celebrating the holidays states that “postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others this year. Travelers should keep their boarding pass, place it in the document scanner, and show the boarding pass to the TSA officer for visual inspection while at the travel document control station. Travelers are reminded to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) travel guides, as well as local and state warnings about COVID-19. Even so, the study provides a general estimate of air travel safety with respect to the transmission of Covid-19 and a methodology that can be applied to future studies.
