This may be one of the discussions you will have this Tuesday, sitting on the terrace enjoying your first post-confinement restaurant with your loved ones: the summer holidays. And if you plan to travel far from France, as in Greece for example, the question will certainly arise: can we catch the coronavirus in a plane?
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No risk according to the airlines
"If we believe the airlines and the manufacturers, there is no risk," said the microphone of Europe 1 doctor Jimmy Mohamed. "First of all, there is no evidence of an aerial transmission of the Covid-19, then half of the air flow of an airplane comes from outside and the other is recycled thanks to filters similar to those found in operating theaters. Not to mention that this flow is propelled from top to bottom, and always from the back of the cabin towards the front, making contamination almost impossible. "
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But not according to the high council for public health
However, "the high council of public health explains in a report that it is indeed possible to catch the virus through travel and contacts that we can have," said the doctor. Concretely, this can happen by manipulating the screen embedded in the seat in front of you, or by going to the toilet. "In fact, a similar example of transmission of the flu has already been reported after an airplane crash in Alaska."
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To minimize the risks, "the aviation safety agency therefore required the disinfection of the cabins after each flight, as well as the cleaning of all passenger contact points with disinfectants and virucides". In addition, if physical distance has not yet been adopted on board, "wearing a mask is compulsory and on-board service is temporarily canceled for flights of less than 2.5 hours", while at airports passengers will be able to easily find hydroalcoholic gel.