A new study backed by Airbus and Boeing shows the risk of contracting coronavirus on a flight is "very low".
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says there have been just 44 cases of Covid-19 reported in which transmission is thought to have been associated with a flight journey.
They said this includes confirmed, probable and potential cases and over the same period some 1.2 billion passengers have travelled.
New insight into why the numbers are so low has come from the joint publication by Airbus, Boeing and Embraer of separate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) research conducted by each manufacturer in their aircraft.
It is hoped the report can be used to help kick-start the aviation sector that has been badly impacted by the pandemic.
Dr David Powell, IATA’s Medical Advisor, said: “The risk of a passenger contracting COVID-19 while onboard appears very low.
"With only 44 identified potential cases of flight-related transmission among 1.2 billion travelers, that’s one case for every 27 million travelers.
"We recognize that this may be an underestimate but even if 90% of the cases were un-reported, it would be one case for every 2.7 million travelers. We think these figures are extremely reassuring.
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"Furthermore, the vast majority of published cases occurred before the wearing of face coverings inflight became widespread."
Data from the simulations by the different plane manufacturers yielded similar results.
They found:
• Aircraft airflow systems, High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters, the natural barrier of the seatback, the downward flow of air, and high rates of air exchange efficiently reduce the risk of disease transmission on board in normal times.
• The addition of mask-wearing amid pandemic concerns adds a further and significant extra layer of protection, which makes being seated in close proximity in an aircraft cabin safer than most other indoor environments.
It added that aircraft design characteristics add a further layer of protection contributing to the low incidence of inflight transmission.
These include:
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• Limited face-to-face interactions as passengers face forward and move about very little.
• The effect of the seat-back acting as a physical barrier to air movement from one row to another.
• The minimization of forward-aft flow of air, with a segmented flow design which is directed generally downward from ceiling to floor.
• The high rate of fresh air coming into the cabin. Air is exchanged 20-30 times per hour on board most aircraft, which compares very favorably with the average office space (average 2-3 times per hour) or schools (average 10-15 times per hour).
• The use of HEPA filters which have more than 99.9% bacteria/virus removal efficiency rate ensuring that the air supply entering the cabin is not a pathway for introducing microbes.
Airbus study
Airbus used CFD to create a highly accurate simulation of the air in an A320 cabin, to see how droplets resulting from a cough move within the cabin airflow.
The simulation calculated parameters such as air speed, direction and temperature at 50 million points in the cabin, up to 1,000 times per second.
Airbus then used the same tools to model a non-aircraft environment, with several individuals keeping six feet (1.8 meters) distance between them. The result was that potential exposure was lower when seated side by side on a plane than when staying six feet apart in an environment such as an office, classroom or grocery store.
“After multiple, highly-detailed simulations using the most accurate scientific methods available, we have concrete data which reveals the aircraft cabin offers a much safer environment than indoor public spaces,” said Bruno Fargeon, Airbus Engineering and the leader of the Airbus Keep Trust in Air Travel Initiative.