TAMPA -- If you’re one of those people who gets on an airplane and counts the number of people coughing and sneezing, worrying about getting sick, listen up.
A brand new study tracked more than 1,500 passengers to figure out how germs travel between passengers on planes and concluded where it’s safest to sit, which bathroom to use – even who to avoid chatting it up with during a flight.
Angela Cumba checks people’s tickets and ID’s at Tampa International Airport. On Tuesday, and almost every other day, she wears a surgical mask for protection against passengers potentially carrying who knows what illness from who knows where.
“Every single day we are exposed,” said Cumba.
Airplanes can be a petri dish of germs, viruses, and bacteria, so a new study from the Georgia Institute of Technology took a look at how to best avoid getting sick.
First, the seat. Window middle or aisle? Well, first – no one likes the center seat.
But researchers found that sitting next to the window gives you a better chance of avoiding the sickly stuff that people cough and sneeze into the air, and fewer bumps and physical contact with people moving up and down the aisle.
“Well, people are walking by when you’re on the aisle row. Everybody’s walking by, bumping into you, so I think the further I am away from folks that may have some kind of cold or virus I think the more safe,” said passenger Twain Nelson.
Okay, next.
The study took a closer look at which onboard bathroom to use.
“The back seems kind of like – sketchy,” said passenger Kaylie Griesel.
“Front. It seems cleaner, because that’s where the pilot has to go potty,” laughed passenger Mindy Seyler.
“I make sure that I get my business finished before I get on the plane,” said seasoned business traveler Greg May.
Lavatory lines at the back of the plane are typically half as long, said researchers, so that’s good. But the fewer surfaces you can touch, the better. So, stick with bathrooms at the airport before the flight, where modern faucets, soap dispensers, and hand dryers or towel dispensers are often “hands-free”.
And finally, not to be antisocial, but you might try to avoid contact with the crew. Researchers found flight attendants are six times more likely to transmit an illness than your fellow fliers. That’s likely because flight attendants move around, making contact more often with coughers, sneezers, and wheezers.
The good news is that while researchers were able to figure out how viruses move around an airplane cabin, they say, it hardly ever happens, so try to avoid seats in the middle section of the aircraft. That’s where more people are likely to move past you during a flight
But if somebody is exhibiting symptoms who is close by - in front, behind, or right next to you, it might be a good idea to ask for a seat change.
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