Last week the CEO of Frontier Airlines and the Chairman of Airbus sent an e-mail about flying safety with information and references from the CDC, government agencies, and other industry and safety experts. It outlined the concerns that many of our clients have with traveling during the current time. Here is the excerpt below that I wanted to share with you:
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"From the first days of the COVID pandemic, the entire air travel industry has set about to answer a single question: Is it safe for our passengers to fly? Not only did we feel a profound obligation to answer that for all of you, but as members of the flying public ourselves, we needed to know if we could tell our families without reservation that yes, it was okay to keep flying. The simple answer – and the reason you can find us and our families in the air–is that passengers are just as safe on an airplane as they are in public places on the ground in many ways, even safer. We don’t expect you to take our word for it, and you don’t have to. The aircraft industry and medical experts, government agencies and universities have all conducted months of careful study and the results speak for themselves. Here is what the experts from around the world have to say:
• From Dr. David Powell, medical advisor to the International Air Transport Association: Your odds of contracting COVID-19 on a flight are about the same as your odds of getting struck by lightning. • From Harvard University researchers: the use of masks –combined with diligent cleaning protocols like those employed by Frontier and advanced ventilation and filtration systems on aircraft like those made by Airbus offer “significant protection against COVID-19 during air travel.” And the ventilation and air purification systems on our airplanes “effectively counter the proximity travelers are subject to during flights.” • From the Centers for Disease Control: Harvard University experts point out that the CDC has not confirmed a single case of viral transmission on a U.S. plane. • From the University of Arizona: Coronavirus can virtually be eliminated from airplane cabin surfaces by using the type of disinfecting techniques Frontier utilizes to clean our airplanes. • From the U.S. Air Force’s Transportation Command: when using masks, the spread of infectious particles on an airplane is even lower than in a conventional indoor setting. In fact, “being on a commercial airplane with HEPA filtration is probably one of the safest places that you can be.” • From Airbus engineers: Using the same advanced aerodynamic modeling used to design its airplanes, Airbus engineers tracked air flow aboard aircraft cabins. Millions of measurements and computer analysis showed that being one foot apart on these aircraft provides equivalent separation as being six feet apart in most buildings. This extensive body of research underscores that airplanes are unique environments with highly effective systems in place and, when combined with rigorous cleaning and sanitation protocols, make flying on an airplane one of the safest things you can do outside of your home." ----------------------------------------------------------------
How does that make you feel about flying? Does it make you feel any safer? Let us know in the comments below.
If you're looking to get away during this time, please do not hesitate to contact us at 817-386-0701 or use one of the links to schedule a phone call!
Kimberly & Jeff Jacoby
Romantics Travel