ralph4878

Exactly. After all, they always say that their biggest responsibility is the safety of all onboard...

patvd

This is what the UK civil aviation authority says:

Schultzois

Maybe I would politely ask for a seat “well within the non-coughing section” as my mother used to request when we’d fly to Barbados in the smoking days for a seat “well within the non-smoking section”

Tongue in cheek of course, but she could legitimately say back then she was allergic to cigarette smoke… and some people are allergic to sicknesses… I’m not saying they should be prevented from flying, but if there’s someone near you filling the air with whatever they have, it’s not unreasonable to ask to move away from it.

In these days where every restaurant asks you if you have a food allergy, and planes will forego services over peanuts (literally,) it does seem a little strange to just look the other way when someone is properly infectious. But here we are…

And finally, I was unwittingly such a passenger in March 2020 when I flew from Paris to Săo Paulo. Coughing in the lounge, coughing in the plane… had already booked flights and apartments and had nowhere realistic to stay until I got down there… never once crossed my mind I had COVID as no one was taking it seriously until about a week later… But I probably did as I tested positive for the antibodies a couple months later when those tests were developed. Hindsight being what it is, I’m still not sure what I’d do. Both my own and my family’s experience with hospitals is that they tend only to make things worse with additional infections you certainly didn’t have before… If I am away from “home” whatever that is for me these days, I’d be urgent to get back to wherever I could care for myself with the least of inconvenience to others, even if that means a few hours in 1A. But I’d probably be apologetic and do my best to protect others, including a mask and if possible some distance.

HIDDY

Those who demand coughers on public transport be immediately gagged worries me. Let's hope it doesn't catch on.

Igene

Masks are such a controversy...

Look, I keep it simple.. My goal is to protect myself and my family. Someone hacking in my vicinity, I mask up. I'm not going to give them the side eye or alert a flight attendant.

Carry a high quality mask and use your own best practices. In a perfect world, people would show consideration for others, that seemingly went out the window a few years ago.

lostinthegrid

The filtration isn't perfect and a recent systematic review of 15 studies shows that the risk increases with the length of the flight. However, wearing a mask pretty much negates the risk. Also risk varies with exposure time so taking your mask off to eat or drink increases the risk but it's still much lower than the risk of not being masked. You can get the study with details if you google "The Risk of Aircraft-Acquired SARS-CoV-2 Transmission during Commercial Flights: A Systematic Review" (I haven't posted enough to be able to post urls).

largeeyes

Wait, wut?

AlwaysFlyStar

Tell BA and other airlines. I would not fly when contagious if airlines offered to put you on the next flight after you recover. However, I am not letting a cold cost me 1000 or more EUR. Would travel insurance even cover a cold?
It certainly isn't ideal, but you can't blame people for not wanting or not being able to afford to pay for last minute airfare + an indefinite hotel stay.

bambinomartino

Who still, and voluntarily, owns FP3 masks?

[edited by mod to remove unclear meaning and symbols used to bypass profanity filter.]

PLeblond

I wasn't suggesting it was perfect. Simply that its better than almost any other indoor spaces.

the phoenix

People suck.

I’ve had people call out of school or work, sick, but then come to our office for eye exams bc they took the day off.

People suck.

Adelphos

I was on a flight a few days ago - I was in an aisle seat in economy, and across the aisle was a family of three - the wife was in the middle seat, hacking up a storm (and it wasn't "allergies" - it was a clear congested cough with sniffles, so likely a cold of some sort).

I was kind of annoyed, and you could tell the people in the rows in front and behind them were also annoyed.

This is just something that has changed with Covid - people are more sensitive about being exposed to people with contagious stuff. I know many people at work, for example, who will actively avoid interacting with people in person who believe they have a cold. Also - people are more likely to stay home from work when sick than they used to.

I didn't have a mask with me on the flight - though I wish I did. I almost asked the flight crew if they had masks on them, but ultimately didn't. I still have dozens of K95 masks sitting around my house - I have now packed a few in each of my carry on bags so that I am now prepared. I have also always packed hand sanitizer on my carry on since the pandemic. Mask wearing in general is not uncommon in US air travel - a clear minority of passengers and crew, to be sure, but it's not unusual to see masks on planes nowadays, so it is strange that some commentators think it is weird when people do wear masks.

ralph4878

Pretty sure that no one here has demanded this, as there's a clear line between someone coughing due to a tickle in their throat and someone intentionally taking a form of public transportation knowing that they are or feel sick. No one has the right to endanger others' well-being; I don't care what sort of excuse they try and find - it's called human decency.

HIDDY

You obviously didn't get the joke.

rufflesinc

With easy availability of n95s, anyone who cares about others being sick can wear one and be protected. I say that as someone who came down with a cold right before going to Hawaii ten years , got doped up on DayQuil and still had fun., but still masked and vaxxxed during pandemic

Then again I have a little disease vector coming home from daycare everyday so my risk tolerance is higher