PSA: keep masking when flying!

[Not_a_Number]

We just got COVID on a plane. A week before that, another kid in our small co-op got COVID on a plane.

It seems pretty clear to me that whatever people are saying (no, a sample of 2 doesn’t suffice, but combined with other information I have, I find this suggestive…), it’s easy to catch COVID on a plane.

So keep masking when flying, everyone! Even if, like me, you don’t mask otherwise.

Edited October 29, 2022 by Not_a_Number

[Not_a_Number]

If this is already well-known, my apologies!! I’ve stopped keeping up.

[Shoeless]

I don't know if it's well known. I still hear "But planes have excellent air handling systems!". That may be true, but it won't help if the guy behind or next to you sneezes and coughs on you for 3 hours. 

[Not_a_Number]

2 minutes ago, MissLemon said:

I don't know if it's well known. I still hear "But planes have excellent air handling systems!". That may be true, but it won't help if the guy behind or next to you sneezes and coughs on you for 3 hours. 

And this didn’t even happen here. No coughing. But here we are.

[Not_a_Number]

And, by the way, I’ve been taking NYC subways without a mask for 6 months now. Not usually in rush hour, true. But they weren’t empty!!

[Not_a_Number]

And no, we didn’t mask. I’m kicking myself pretty hard here.

[HSmomof2]

We don’t have plans to fly anytime soon, but did fly once in September. We did mask, mostly because the plane was completely full and was crowded beyond my comfort level. We’d recently had Covid a couple months prior, but I didn’t want a cold or anything else on vacation. 

[Spryte]

So sorry you caught it.

Yeh, we are still masking on planes and public transport, but we are more cautious than you, I think, for our own reasons.

Regardless, I keep hearing stories about people catching it while traveling or on planes, so we will continue. Family caught it at a restaurant recently, too. Ugh.

 

[Not_a_Number]

1 minute ago, Spryte said:

So sorry you caught it.

Yeh, we are still masking on planes and public transport, but we are more cautious than you, I think, for our own reasons.

Regardless, I keep hearing stories about people catching it while traveling or on planes, so we will continue. Family caught it at a restaurant recently, too. Ugh.

 

We’ve been going to restaurants, too. And coffee shops. And… nothing until we fly!!!

[Ausmumof3]

Everyone I know who didn’t have covid before flying got it when flying. Well except my daughter who got something that according to PCR and multiple RATs was not Covid. Most likely from the family do with the uncle with the cold that “wasn’t contagious because he’d had it for ages”. She masks really well though. Most people that mask on planes eat, drink etc.

It could also be a timing thing as it looks like you have another wave happening?

[Not_a_Number]

1 minute ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Everyone I know who didn’t have covid before flying got it when flying. Well except my daughter who got something that according to PCR and multiple RATs was not Covid. Most likely from the family do with the uncle with the cold that “wasn’t contagious because he’d had it for ages”. She masks really well though. Most people that mask on planes eat, drink etc.

It could also be a timing thing as it looks like you have another wave happening?

Unlikely to be a separate timing thing. We saw very few people before flying.

I don’t see an NYC wave either.

[Spryte]

How are you feeling? Any better?

[Not_a_Number]

1 minute ago, Spryte said:

How are you feeling? Any better?

Yeah, we’re all feeling a bunch better, although still sick.

[MercyA]

We were just flying earlier this week and DH came down with something unpleasant. RAT says not COVID and I hope it's right! We do all have the new boosters and maybe that gave us a false sense of security. We did not mask. 😞 

I saw a fair amount of people masking in the airport and on vacation and that was encouraging (even though I wasn't doing it). I hope it's okay to say that most of those masking appeared to be Asian. I think their cultures are more supportive of it and more used to it.

[Not_a_Number]

Just now, MercyA said:

I saw a fair amount of people masking in the airport and on vacation and that was encouraging (even though I wasn't doing it). I hope it's okay to say that most of those masking appeared to be Asian. I think their cultures are more supportive of it and more used to it.

I’m seeing that, too. 

[Not_a_Number]

1 minute ago, MercyA said:

We were just flying earlier this week and DH came down with something unpleasant. RAT says not COVID and I hope it's right! We do all have the new boosters and maybe that gave us a false sense of security. We did not mask. 😞 

I saw a fair amount of people masking in the airport and on vacation and that was encouraging (even though I wasn't doing it). I hope it's okay to say that most of those masking appeared to be Asian. I think their cultures are more supportive of it and more used to it.

Fingers crossed it’s not COVID. And I hope he feels better soon!!

[Corraleno]

The two times I've flown since covid started, I literally did not take my mask off from the moment I got into the Uber on the way to the airport until I got out of the cab at my destination. I had straws to drink through and I was sucking on zinc lozenges but did not eat. DS flies a lot, and planes and airports are the one place he's still wiling to mask. Thankfully he has not gotten sick yet, but he has both a cross-country trip and a European trip in the next three weeks (plus two additional competitions with long bus rides) and I feel like he's really tempting fate at this point.

[Laura Corin]

Yes. Husband can't be sure when he got Covid  - he was meeting a lot of family and old friends during his trip to the US - but Omicron has an average incubation period of three days and that was precisely the time period between - final - flight and onset of symptoms. 

[ktgrok]

Yup, both people that caught Covid in our family got it from flying/traveling. My theory is 1. the dry air makes you more susceptible and 2. When you are in that plane before engines start there is NO air circulation. 

[Laura Corin]

4 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

Yup, both people that caught Covid in our family got it from flying/traveling. My theory is 1. the dry air makes you more susceptible and 2. When you are in that plane before engines start there is NO air circulation. 

Ah. Yes. One of Husband's last flights sat at the gate for 40 minutes before take off.

[KSera]

1 hour ago, MissLemon said:

I don't know if it's well known. I still hear "But planes have excellent air handling systems!". That may be true, but it won't help if the guy behind or next to you sneezes and coughs on you for 3 hours. 

The air filtration isn’t running while the plane is on the ground. If you must take off your mask, wait until the plane is at cruising altitude to do so.

[bookbard]

59 minutes ago, KSera said:

The air filtration isn’t running while the plane is on the ground. If you must take off your mask, wait until the plane is at cruising altitude to do so.

Yes, and boarding is a big issue too. I've seen the images of people with carbon dioxide monitors on planes before the plane takes off. Crazy high.

My friend just returned from an international flight (20 plus hours). She wore a Flo mask, ordered a special meal so she was eating at a separate time to others, and did not catch Covid. She did end up with marks on her face from hours of masking, but it was worth it.

[rebcoola]

Good to know I have no plans to fly until August but my bff is flying here next week. They have managed to stay covid free all this time and it would be a shame for her to catch it now.  She has chronic fatigue following mono. It usually gets slightly better during and immediately following the flu and than rebounds worse after.  Don't know what covid would do to her. I'm  sure she is planning on masking but  I also think she has heard the things about the filtration being good etc. And maybe not overly worried about eating/drinking for a few minutes even during a delay 

[Shoeless]

47 minutes ago, KSera said:

The air filtration isn’t running while the plane is on the ground. If you must take off your mask, wait until the plane is at cruising altitude to do so.

I think I will always mask on planes and at airports for the rest of my days. Even before Covid, I always managed to pick up some sort of bug when traveling! 

[Mama Geek]

I haven't flown in a long time but I used to get sick every time I flew.  Someone suggested taking alcohol swabs and wiping down the chair you sit in at the airport and the chair and table on the plane.  The last couple of times I flew and did that, I didn't get sick.  It made a big difference.

[Tenaj]

My mil came down with her first case of Covid last week after flying for the first time since 2020.  Now she has passed it on to my fil.  They are both in their mid80s.  

[Happy2BaMom]

I agree and I would say it’s even more important to mark while in the airport, which does not have the ventilation systems of an airplane and has hundreds more people packed in/passing through. 

And we all got Covid after flying in July and two friends of mine got Covid after flying in October. 

Air travel is a high risk activity. 

[scholastica]

Dd got Covid 2 weeks ago after flying. The urgent care doc asked exactly that question. “Have you flown recently?” Symptoms started 2 days after flying.

[mommyoffive]

My dh flies for work hasn't gotten it yet.  He masks all the time.  He just got home for a huge show so we will see. 

We always wiped down everything around us on a plane and still would get sick on trips.  I think I will forever mask on planes.  Covid or not.   It is so easy to do and if it can cut our risks down of picking up anything on a trip it is worth it.  Every single international family trip we have been on we have gotten sick.  I think maybe people were not getting it on planes before because everyone was masked.  Now it is just a few people. 

Yes, the airports and lines are a big risk factor too.  And although the air circulation is there on a plane when it is flying it isn't all the time.  And even with good air filtration when people are packed so close together for hours, there is still going to be transmission, I think.   This for sure has me worried about our upcoming trip.  

Edited October 29, 2022 by mommyoffive

[MEmama]

I mean, it’s risky to not mask. Period.

Idk that planes inherently come with more risk than any other crowded, indoor space. I’m also unsure how people are so certain they got sick on a plane, as opposed to all the other exposure one has when travelling (or just existing in public). After all, only takes one person walking by with an unfortunately timed cough, whether we are tired of that reality or not.

 

Edited October 29, 2022 by MEmama

[Malory]

55 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Idk that planes inherently come with more risk than any other crowded, indoor space. I’m also unsure how people are so certain they got sick on a plane, as opposed to all the other exposure one has when travelling (or just existing in public). After all, only takes one person walking by with an unfortunately timed cough, whether we are tired of that reality or not.

Right. You can as easily catch it from a crowded airport gate as from sitting inside the plane. I actually think whether you catch it during travel or not depends on how strong your body happens to be. My family members have flown plenty of times during the pandemic, at first masked and later unmasked, and only one time did one person get the virus at the end. And it was hard to say for certain whether it was caught from the airport, the plane, or other places we visited.

[KSera]

4 hours ago, Happy2BaMom said:

I agree and I would say it’s even more important to mark while in the airport, which does not have the ventilation systems of an airplane and has hundreds more people packed in/passing through. 

 

The CO2 readings I’ve seen from most airports are pretty good. I’m sure some aren’t though and if people are packed together at the gate before boarding, that’s going to be an issue (especially at airports that have those enclosed rooms for each gate). The plane itself while it’s still on the tarmac are where Ive seen readings that are super high though. 

15 minutes ago, Malory said:

I actually think whether you catch it during travel or not depends on how strong your body happens to be.

I’ve seen lots of people with strong bodies get Covid. As discussed in another thread, there’s also been a notable uptick in young athletes having heart attacks after having Covid. The people I know who have flown many times and still not had Covid are all people who always mask in public. 

[Not_a_Number]

4 hours ago, MEmama said:

I mean, it’s risky to not mask. Period.

Idk that planes inherently come with more risk than any other crowded, indoor space. I’m also unsure how people are so certain they got sick on a plane, as opposed to all the other exposure one has when travelling (or just existing in public). After all, only takes one person walking by with an unfortunately timed cough, whether we are tired of that reality or not.

 

I’ve been in coffee shops, restaurants, museums, and NY subways without a mask for 6 months. The kids have been doing the same and taking classes. We’ve been going to grocery stores. Nothing until flying.

To me, this is a striking data point. However, if you think it’s a coincidence, feel free to ignore it 🤷‍♀️. I wanted to post it for people who like anecdata that helps them evaluate risks.

Edited October 29, 2022 by Not_a_Number

[kbutton]

15 hours ago, MissLemon said:

I don't know if it's well known. I still hear "But planes have excellent air handling systems!". That may be true, but it won't help if the guy behind or next to you sneezes and coughs on you for 3 hours. 

I don't buy that they have great air handling TBH. I've never been on a full plane where it felt like I was getting quality air. I am super sensitive in environments without good air exchange--it feels like the air is used up when I breathe it, I get a headache, and I get overly warm. I always feel like that on a full plane (pre-911 I flew in some pretty not full planes a couple of times, and it was better). I feel that way when the plane is parked, then it gets better when we get in the air, but about the last 1/3 of the flight, I feel like the air is just all used up again.

I know other people who said they get sick every time they fly (pre-Covid).

15 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:

We’ve been going to restaurants, too. And coffee shops. And… nothing until we fly!!!

 We haven't flown, but we have masked everywhere and don't eat with other people (Younger DS has to at school; DH has had to eat around others the whole pandemic while at work, but until very recently, he could usually choose to eat while others around him are masked).

We're pretty sure my older DS got it after eating in an empty breakroom based on timing and behavior.

I definitely think flying is riskier for disease transmission, but don't discount random dumb luck, lol!

[EKS]

I've been wanting to mask on planes for years.  But in the beforetimes it was thought to be so odd that I never did.  I consider one benefit of covid to be the normalization of masking in public, and I fully intend to mask on planes for the rest of my life!

Edited October 29, 2022 by EKS

[Scarlett]

Covid is running through our congregation… I think we are up to about 15 now. We are almost positive it originated with a woman who had just returned from Hawaii. And the last time she returned from Hawaii she also brought it back to her mother. So yes I think it is still being transmitted on planes. I have not asked her if she mask on the plane. It seems kind of rude at this point since everyone is so sick. But I would love to know

[Harriet Vane]

1 hour ago, Not_a_Number said:

I’ve been in coffee shops, restaurants, museums, and NY subways without a mask for 6 months. The kids have been doing the same and taking classes. We’ve been going to grocery stores. Nothing until flying.

To me, this is a striking data point. However, if you think it’s a coincidence, feel free to ignore it 🤷‍♀️. I wanted to post it for people who like anecdata that helps them evaluate risks.

Honestly, this does not make sense to me. If you've been unmasked everywhere, how can you decree with such confidence that a couple hours on the plane is what infected you? What if one of the zillions of other spaces you've been in infected you?

That said, I am sorry you have covid. Being sick is wretched.

[Not_a_Number]

13 minutes ago, Harriet Vane said:

Honestly, this does not make sense to me. If you've been unmasked everywhere, how can you decree with such confidence that a couple hours on the plane is what infected you? What if one of the zillions of other spaces you've been in infected you?

Timing. It’s very clear knowing what I know. 🤷‍♀️

Edited October 29, 2022 by Not_a_Number

[Not_a_Number]

I really don’t feel like debating about it, so I’m going to bow out of discussing how, exactly, I've reached this conclusion. From what I’ve seen, if (like us) you want to live a relatively normal life, but you do want to avoid getting sick as long as possible, you should mask on planes, because my evidence strongly suggests that planes are high risk. That’s how I plan to behave myself in the future.

If you decide you don’t trust either my evidence or my assessment, I’m not planning to work hard to change people’s minds.

PM me if you’d genuinely like more details, though.

Edited October 29, 2022 by Not_a_Number

[Acadie]

I'll also be masking on planes forever. In the before times I noticed we often got colds after flying, especially in the winter. And after two transatlantic flights this summer with unmasked people hacking up a lung for 8 hours, I'm definitely done sharing unfiltered air with my fellow passengers. My whole family was masked and thankfully we did not get sick. 

@Not_a_Number, I believe you about the flight--based on timing I think the same happened with 3 different households in our extended family. 

But as a separate issue, I've heard COVID hospitalizations are rising in NY (not sure about state vs. city), but decoupled from cases. Which isn't surprising, given unreported rapid tests, or people not testing at all.

At this point wastewater and hospitalizations are all we have to go on. Cases and even positivity, weirdly, aren't entirely lining up. 

 

[Not_a_Number]

8 minutes ago, Acadie said:

But as a separate issue, I've heard COVID hospitalizations are rising in NY (not sure about state vs. city), but decoupled from cases. Which isn't surprising, given unreported rapid tests, or people not testing at all.

Yes, I'm seeing that, too, now that I'm looking. We're mostly based in California right now, but I'm wondering how it'll be when we go back in January. I'm kind of hoping we'll be relatively immune for most of the winter... 

 

8 minutes ago, Acadie said:

At this point wastewater and hospitalizations are all we have to go on. Cases and even positivity, weirdly, aren't entirely lining up. 

Is positivity currently working better than cases, do you know? 

Edited October 29, 2022 by Not_a_Number

[Not_a_Number]

I'm realizing something I'm really sensitive to is when I do my best to present what I genuinely believe, with no ulterior motives, and people act like I'm debating or trying to be right or whatever. It hurts my feelings and winds me up. 

At the end, no one has to pay any attention to me 🤷‍♀️. But I'm usually trying to do my best to be helpful. It bothers me when it feels like I don't get the benefit of the doubt. 

Edited October 29, 2022 by Not_a_Number

[Shoeless]

2 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

I'm realizing something I'm really sensitive when I do my best to present what I genuinely believe, with no ulterior motives, and people act like I'm debating or trying to be right or whatever. It hurts my feelings and winds me up. 

At the end, no one has to pay any attention to me 🤷‍♀️. But I'm usually trying to do my best to be helpful. It bothers me when it feels like I don't get the benefit of the doubt. 

It's the internet. No one gets the benefit of the doubt on the internet. 

[Not_a_Number]

Just now, MissLemon said:

It's the internet. No one gets the benefit of the doubt on the internet. 

They do from me. 

Anyway, I'm not saying people SHOULD give me the benefit of the doubt or whatever. I'm just saying I'm realizing it really bothers me. 

[MEmama]

54 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

I'm realizing something I'm really sensitive to is when I do my best to present what I genuinely believe, with no ulterior motives, and people act like I'm debating or trying to be right or whatever. It hurts my feelings and winds me up. 

At the end, no one has to pay any attention to me 🤷‍♀️. But I'm usually trying to do my best to be helpful. It bothers me when it feels like I don't get the benefit of the doubt. 

I understood that your post was insinuating that planes are the only place to catch Covid, which I thought was very weird and obviously untrue. I absolutely agree with you that we should be masking on planes—I’m still always masking in public (except for a handful of times on a recent international trip). I just don’t know why planes would be inherently *more* likely to be vectors of a virus, when said virus is circulating everywhere.

Perhaps I misunderstood and you were reminding people who think planes are safe that they are not? If so, I apologize for the misunderstanding.

Either way I hope you feel better soon. 

[Not_a_Number]

21 minutes ago, MEmama said:

I understood that your post was insinuating that planes are the only place to catch Covid, which I thought was very weird and obviously untrue. 

I know. I can read tone from online posts. And that hurts my feelings. I'd prefer that people treat me like I'm well-meaning. 

[KSera]

3 hours ago, EKS said:

I've been wanting to mask on planes for years.  But in the beforetimes it was thought to be so odd that I never did.  I consider one benefit of covid to be the normalization of masking in public, and I fully intend to mask on planes for the rest of my life!

QFT!  I’ve tried hard to avoid the flu for the past 10 years or so, but never considered wearing a mask because that was just never a thing. I have no qualms about masking indoors in public during flu season going forward. And It’s a lot easier than all the measures I used to take!

2 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:

From what I’ve seen, if (like us) you want to live a relatively normal life, but you do want to avoid getting sick as long as possible, you should mask on planes, because my evidence strongly suggests that planes are high risk.

I agree planes are high risk, but completely disagree that you can live a relatively normal life without masking other than planes and avoid getting sick. Your family was fortunate that it worked out that way, but millions of others have gotten sick without ever stepping foot on a plane. Anywhere there are people gathered indoors and Covid is circulating, Covid is likely to be in the air and the higher the current rate of circulation, the greater the chance you’re going to breathe in the virus and get sick. The farther out from your vaccine or last date of illness, the more likely you are to get sick. 

[catz]

The thing is many of us have a story about the first time covid was in our house.  I know exactly where my teen got it a few weeks ago because we got an exposure notice the day her symptoms developed.  And there was masking involved.  It was a one-on-one exposure from a faculty memberon a university campus where she dual enrolls..  At the end of the day, when you are in close range of someone with covid, you may develop covid.  The more close interactions with other humans you have, the more likely you are to be exposed.  Getting through an airport and on a plane, you have lots of exposures.  There are some signs that some areas may be going back up into a wave - I know our wastewater levels are up the last couple weeks.

I have to say the OP on this thread does sound a little either condescending or tone deaf.  So maybe that's why that isn't being well received by everyone.  

I continue to mask in any crowded situations - transit, planes, shows, etc.  Sometimes in stores, etc.  That said, we are slowly getting back out to restaurants, in person shopping, etc.  I have noticed when we are using restaurants, coffee shops, etc we are often there when it isn't busy and it isn't typically hard to place yourself outside other people's bubbles.  

I do think I'll be masking in some situations for a long time like on planes.  I was fairly neurotic about wiping down planes and washing hands immediately after getting off after having several trips ruined by a minor bug.   I haven't had a cold in years at this point.  It has been delightful.

Edited October 29, 2022 by catz

[Jean in Newcastle]

I prefer that discussions of Covid are scientifically factual. The facts support masking everywhere an airborne virus can be transmitted. This obviously includes airplanes. It equally obviously includes other places where people congregate. 

[Matryoshka]

2 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:

Is positivity currently working better than cases, do you know? 

Looking at the numbers lately,  that does seem to be the case again. Though apparently my state just stopped reporting positivity.  🙄  So now I'm just watching the wastewater.

I'm getting on a plane Monday for the first time since Covid. Going to double mask. I've still been masking indoors and avoiding indoor dining. But also going with dd21 who is currently out at a bar with her friends.  Oy.