Free middle seat in aircraft should significantly minimize the risk of corona infection
This was the result of a study from the USA
7 May 2021
After over a year of the pandemic, we are now more than ready to finally go on vacation again. We long for ocean and other cities. For many, the plane is still the fastest method of getting from A to B. This naturally raises the question of how high the risk of contracting the virus is? A study from the USA provides answers.
Because apparently a free middle seat reduces the risk of corona infection.
Free middle seat in the airplane minimizes risk of infection
Many people are currently asking themselves whether they should fly or whether it would be better to use other means of transport. After all, a few hundred people sit in a locked room on airplanes for long periods of time. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in conjunction with Kansas State University, has developed an Study in which it dealt with precisely this topic. The result: a free middle seat on the plane is said to reduce the risk of coming into contact with the virus by 57 percent.
To do this, the researchers used laboratory models and studied how to minimize exposure to viruses in aircraft cabins. According to the study, the risk of infection fell by 23 percent for a single passenger if there was a free middle seat and that passenger sat two seats next to an infected passenger. In a free section of three rows, where the middle seats were unoccupied and a mix of healthy and infected people sat, the risk dropped by as much as 57 percent.
These are the safest seats
Even before the pandemic, there were studies confirming that there are indeed seats that are more dangerous than others in terms of virus infection risks. In fact, Emory University in Atlanta found back in 2018 that the number of people in contact (and thus the risk of infection) is significantly higher in an aisle seat than in a window seat. While passengers with a window seat come into contact with about 12 people, the number of aisle seats is 64.
But the most important thing is, and always will be, to follow the safety measures in place and not board a plane if you don't feel healthy.
