Air travel is 'virus-safe': Spanish carriers explain how

In a bid to reassure a concerned public and prevent a mass boycott of aeroplanes - once travel conditions return to normal – due to fears of contagion, the Spanish Airlines Association (ALA) has explained how the air passengers breathe during flights is safer than almost anywhere on the ground.

Planes use a High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter system in the cabin, which eliminates 99.9% of bacteria and viral and fungal particles in the atmosphere – and the air on board is completely replaced and renewed every two to three minutes.

Those who come back from a holiday or trip abroad with a cold and say they must have caught it on the plane are almost certainly, therefore, mistaken – they are likely to have picked it up at their destination, or at the airport if they were among large crowds.

“Air in the cabin never stays still, it never becomes stagnant,” insists the ALA.

“It's a mixture of air drawn in from outside the plane, and air purified by the HEPA system.”

Given the altitude, air 'sucked in' from outside the aircraft to supply on-board systems is naturally virus-free, since no living organism lives that far up in the sky.

Additionally, air inside the cabin flows up and down rather than backwards and forwards, meaning it is less likely to 'blow' viral particles between passengers.

“And it's in permanent circulation, so particles the size of a Coronavirus are eliminated by the HEPA filters,” explains the ALA.

“For this reason, air travel is the safest form of public transport, even in times of Covid-19.”

HEPA filters on aeroplanes are the same as those used in operating theatres to prevent bacteria, fungus and virii from causing infection to patients in surgery.

Some airlines in Spain are still operating, for national flights only.

Mostly, these are for key workers who use them to commute, and between the Canary Islands where residents of one island may need to travel to another for medical appointments or legal or administrative matters.

Ryanair has revealed it will shortly be operating 40% of its flights, although with borders shut, these are likely to be internal only.

The ALA's announcement comes after footage of a Canary Island flight showing every seat filled sparked outrage on social media.

It is likely that extra measures will have to be adopted, including mass disinfecting inside and out between flights, check-in and security gate queues spaced apart, and cabin crew and baggage handlers having to wear protective gear.

Many airlines have said it is not workable to leave the middle seat empty and is neither cost-effective nor environmentally-friendly to travel with planes that are not full.

Masks may become compulsory on all airlines, the way they currently are on all other public transport including trains, trams, buses, taxis, and even in company cars and private vehicles with more than one person occupying them.

Second photograph by the Asociación de Líneas Aéreas (Airlines Association, or ALA) in Spain