Over the past few months have you found yourself wondering how safe is it to fly? I mean, surely I would be at a higher risk of getting COVID-19 by being trapped in a metal tube with hundreds of other people right?
Well, not according to United Airlines.
A study performed by the Department of Defense in partnership with United Airlines was published last Thursday. They ran 300 tests in just over six months using a mannequin on a United plane. The mannequin was equipped with an aerosol generator, which allowed it to replicate human breathing and coughing. They then studied the way the particles moved inside the cabin. Both with the mask on and the mask off.
During these tests they released 180 million particles, which is equivalent to thousands of coughs. "99.99% of those particles left the interior of the aircraft within six minutes," United Airlines Chief Communication Officer Josh Earnest reported to ABC News.
Check out the video below for a brief overview of the testing performed, or if you want to read the technical findings you can check out the official report here.