Prospective travelers have been known to pass up on cheap fares, be they cheap airplane tickets or cheap vacation packages, out of concern for the quality of the air in cabins of airplanes. This was particularly true during the outbreak of the H1N1 virus and the SARS scare in 03.
Some travelers believe that a planes cabin air acts as incubators where communicable diseases can easily spread. Recent studies, including a report issued in August by the National Research Councils Transportation Research Board found that airplane cabins offer no greater health threat to passengers than any other enclosed environment, including theaters or subways.
Experts have determined that while there is a greater risk of infection whenever people are in a confined space, airplane cabins pose no greater risk than the offices people work in daily. Cabin air is refreshed 15 times per hour compared with less than 12 times hourly in typical office buildings.
Cabin air is also circulated through hospital grade HEPA filters, on most full size jets, removing 99.97 percent of bacteria and minuscule particles that carry viruses. The ability of germs to travel throughout the plane is limited since cabin air is divided into separate ventilation systems covering an average of every seven rows.
Although well known pandemics (like H1N1 virus and SARS) concern many travelers, more common ailments, such as colds and stomach viruses are greater threats according to research. Passengers can be infected by such viruses by touching a tray table, lavatory doorknob, or an overhead bin latch.
Research has shown that viruses such as influenza can survive for hours on such surfaces, which are not always routinely cleaned between flights. Using an alcohol based hand sanitizer to wipe down your tray table and other hard surfaces you might touch helps prevent the spread of viruses.
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