Department of Defense, through U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), have just published a landmark study on the safety of commercial air travel that proves the risk of COVID-19 exposure on United aircraft is virtually non-existent.
According to a spokesperson, this study “demonstrates that when a passenger is seated and wearing a mask on average only 0.003% of infected air particles could enter their breathing zone, even when every seat on the plane is occupied”.
The study was conducted entirely onboard United Airlines aircraft and found that fast onboard air recirculation, downward designed air ventilation and efficient HEPA filters make the cabin of a United airplane one of the safest indoor environments in the world.
A brief summary of TRANSCOM’s methodology, key data points and perspective from United’s Chief Customer Officer, Toby Enqvist, are below for your reference. Additionally, b-roll and still images to support your story are available here.
KEY DATA POINTS:
- Study took place over six months
- 300 tests conducted over 38 hours of flight time and 45 hours of ground testing on United aircraft
- Each test released 180 million particles – equivalent to the number of particles that would be produced by thousands of coughs
- The results showed that, when seated with a mask on, on average only 0.003% of particles actually made their way into another passenger’s breathing zone -the findings show that even in neighbouring seats, risk is limited and that masks continue to help minimise exposure when someone coughs
- Approximately 99.99% of particles were filtered out of the cabin within six minutes due to fast air circulation, downward air ventilation and efficient filtration systems on the plane
- In addition to TRANSCOM, DARPA and United, study participants included Boeing, S3i, Zeteo Tech and the National Strategic Research Institute at the University of Nebraska.
United’s Chief Customer Officer, Toby Enqvist said: “Throughout the pandemic, our top priority has been the health and safety of our customers and crew. It’s why we supported the work of military officials, medical experts and aviation engineers that shows that the cabin of an aircraft is one of the safest environments in the world. These results from the Department of Defense demonstrate that the steps we have taken at United, including maximising air flow, running our air filtration system at all times, enforcing a mandatory mask policy and overhauling our cleaning procedures mean your chances of COVID-exposure on a United aircraft are nearly non-existent, even if your flight is full.”
