Latest news with #airplanes
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Doctors Say This Is the Best Seat on a Plane to Avoid Getting Sick
There's a reason everyone freaked out about riding on airplanes during the pandemic: it's an easy way to get sick if you don't take precautions. 'Airline carriers are impressive carriers of the common cold,' says Anthony Ognjan, D.O., FACP., a board-certified osteopathic physician specializing in infectious diseases. The good news is you can greatly reduce your risk of getting sick during a flight — and no, you don't need to travel in a bubble. Just follow the tips below from board-certified physicians. What makes it so easy to get sick during a flight? For starters, when you're on a plane, you're stuck in an enclosed space with quite a few people. 'On most commercial airplanes, there are a lot of people in close proximity for an extended period of time,' says Kathleen N. Mueller, M.D., FAAFP, the director of the American Academy of Family Physicians. 'We know that respiratory droplets that come from a cough or sneeze are one of the most common ways to contract an illness like influenza or COVID-19 and with that many people in an enclosed space, you may find yourself exposed more frequently than you would in other situations.' On top of that, airplane environments are like paradise for illness-causing bacteria and viruses. 'The air inside airplane cabins is notoriously dry with humidity levels often dropping below 20%, significantly lower than what your body is used to,' says Ognjan. 'For comparison, most homes maintain humidity levels between 30 and 60%. Low levels of humidity can affect the body's natural defense system, including mucus in the nose and your throat drying up, creating a much more tolerant environment for germs.' Simply put, flights create a perfect storm for spreading germs: lots of people contained in an area with low humidity. Fortunately, there are a few simple steps you can take to offset those risks and avoid getting sick when you're flying. What can you do to prevent contracting an illness on an airplane? Use these doctor-approved tips to stay healthy during air travel. 'Generally speaking, a middle or aisle seat will have more contact with other passengers than a window seat will,' says Dr. Mueller. Of course, picking this seat isn't a guaranteed way to avoid germs, as research shows, it all depends on how close you are to an infected person, but Dr. Ognjan agrees that a window seat — especially one in the back of the plane — is often the safest. 'The last couple rows of the cabin prevent you from being breathed or coughed on from behind,' he says. This is to lower the chances that you'll need to relieve yourself in an airplane bathroom. 'You have no control over what germs existed before you entered, and they are not cleaned mid-flight,' says Dr. Ognjan. 'Infections during flights can be transmitted not only by aerosols that remain airborne and can be inhaled, but also by large droplets that settle on surfaces or by direct contact with secretions, body fluids or contaminated surfaces,' says Dr. Ognjan. What's more, 'germs can survive for hours or days after the passenger who brought them on board has departed.' He suggests using disinfectant wipes (not baby wipes) on tray tables, armrests and seat belt buckles before use. Before you eat on a plane, it's always smart to sanitize your hands first, says Dr. Mueller. Also, if you touch any communal surfaces (like the handle on the overhead bins), apply hand sanitizer and do not touch your eyes, mouth or nose afterward. 'It is one of the most likely culprits for increased risk of getting sick while flying,' says Dr. Ognjan. 'Even though it can be tempting, I recommend passing on the caffeine or alcohol, which can dehydrate you in already-dry air,' says Dr. Mueller. Yes, most airplanes have air filtration systems, but research shows masks are still effective at slowing the spread of airborne illnesses, especially on longer flights. They're particularly helpful if you're immunocompromised, notes Dr. Mueller. 'A mask can help protect you from airborne germs, especially if someone nearby is coughing or sneezing,' adds Dr. Ognjan. 'If you notice someone coughing or sneezing, try to move away or ask for a different seat if available.' The bottom line 'I want people to know that it is possible to travel without getting sick, especially if you take the right precautions!' says Dr. Mueller. 'If you have specific questions or concerns about upcoming travel, reach out to your family physician. We're here to help you navigate potentially stressful situations with confidence.' And if you happen to be the one who's sick while traveling, consider masking up and coughing and/or sneezing into your elbow when you're on the plane to lower the odds that you'll infect someone else. You Might Also Like 67 Best Gifts for Women That'll Make Her Smile The Best Pillows for Every Type of Sleeper
Washington Post
14-07-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
Airplanes are loud and may damage your hearing. Here's what helps.
Even if you can ignore the sounds of crying babies and booming pilot announcements, airplanes can be loud. That's usually due to another constant noise that you may not notice when settling into a long flight: The roar of the engines. Despite advances in acoustic sound management, experts say this constant noise could be a source of discomfort and potentially even a risk to health and hearing. However, there is not much direct research on how airplane noise affects passengers.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Tampa joins global push to break world record on 'World Skydiving Day'
In an attempt to set a world record on 'World Skydiving Day,' hundreds of people took to the skies Saturday to jump out of airplanes.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Delta's creative tariff dodge: Leave the fancy new jet, bring home the guts
While tariffs threaten to whittle away profits for many businesses, those costs aren't subtle when they're tacked onto the price tag of an airplane. What is fractional leadership, and why is it booming now? 5 companies that could hit a $4 trillion market cap after Nvidia Slurpee Day 2025: How to get your free frozen treat at 7-Eleven, Speedway, and Stripes today In an effort to preserve its bottom line, Delta Air Lines is getting creative. The Atlanta-based company has been pulling engines off new Airbus jets in Europe and bringing them stateside to get grounded U.S. planes up and flying—without paying costs associated with importing new planes and parts. Bloomberg reports that the company has a new practice of removing some U.S.-made Pratt & Whitney engines from new Airbus A321neo jets that were constructed in Europe and sending them to the U.S. in order to avoid import tariffs. Delta is then installing the engines on some of its older A320neo jets that aren't currently flying due to engine problems. Because Delta is reportedly waiting for regulators to give its new set of jets the green light, the engine swapping doesn't mean grounding Europe-based planes that would otherwise be flying. Along with Boeing, Airbus is one of the two largest manufacturers of commercial aircraft in the world. Unlike U.S.-based Boeing, Airbus was founded in Europe and is co-owned by the governments of France, Germany, and Spain, among other investors. Under President Trump's current tariff rules, European-built aircraft incur a 10% tariff when imported into the U.S. Because airlines regularly pay Airbus and Boeing billions to bolster their fleets with modern jets, even a small percentage of additional cost stands to zap the airline industry's already notoriously thin margins. For Delta, one of the largest airlines in the U.S., coming to peace with trade chaos and paying Trump's tariffs isn't on the flight plan. 'We will not be paying tariffs on any aircraft deliveries,' Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in an April earnings call. 'These times are pretty uncertain, and if you start to put a 20% incremental cost on top of an aircraft, it gets very difficult to make that math work.' This post originally appeared at to get the Fast Company newsletter:
Fast Company
11-07-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Delta's creative tariff dodge: leave the fancy new jet, bring home the guts
While tariffs threaten to whittle away profits for many businesses, those costs aren't subtle when they're tacked onto the price tag of an airplane. In an effort to preserve its bottom line, Delta is getting creative. The Atlanta-based airline is now pulling engines off of new Airbus jets in Europe and bringing them stateside to get grounded U.S. planes up and flying without paying costs associated with importing new planes and parts. Bloomberg reports that the company has a new practice of removing some U.S.-made Pratt & Whitney engines from new A321neo jets that were constructed in Europe and sending them to the U.S. in order to avoid import tariffs. Delta is then using the engines on some of its older A320neo jets that aren't currently flying due to engine problems. Because Delta is reportedly waiting for regulators to give its new set of jets the greenlight, the engine swapping doesn't mean grounding Europe-based planes that would otherwise be flying. Along with Boeing, Airbus is one of the two largest manufacturers of commercial aircraft in the world. Unlike U.S.-based Boeing, Airbus was founded in Europe and is co-owned by the governments of France, Germany and Spain, among other investors. Under President Trump's current tariff rules, Europe-built aircraft incur a 10% tariff when imported into the U.S. Because airlines regularly pay Airbus and Boeing billions to bolster their fleets with modern jets, even a small percentage of additional cost stands to zap the airline industry's already notoriously thin margins. For Delta, one of the largest airlines in the U.S., coming to peace with trade chaos and paying Trump's tariffs isn't on the flight plan. 'We will not be paying tariffs on any aircraft deliveries,' Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in an April earnings call. 'These times are pretty uncertain, and if you start to put a 20% incremental cost on top of an aircraft, it gets very difficult to make that math work.'
