Seat 2A

Yeah, but there's plenty the person coughing and sneezing can do to potentially minimize their effect on others nearby and to me at least - that's the point of this thread.

jcwoman

Almost as bad as a sick passenger: a sick airline check-in agent. Checking in for my flight home last week (we had special baggage, so online check in wasn't an option), in Bajaras airport, the American Airlines agent was clearly sick. Sneezing, runny nose, sounded like heck. He blew his nose and then kept wiping his nose with his hands as he handled my passport and boarding pass. I wanted to slap his manager (who was marching around between the desks keeping everybody working) for making him come to work sick.

gretchendz

When bird flu was going on, I flew into Cairo...they made us all stand in a big area like cattle and they had nurses taking your temperature (forehead infrared thingy--not an oral thermometer, thank goodness) before you could enter the airport/customs. Ii was a madhouse with hundreds of people confused and milling around and probably spreading more germs...

On a related note, when swine flu was going around they killed almost all their pigs, which caused a problem for the Coptic Christians...

FlyingNone

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Sorry to say I've been in that position - felt a little punk when I went to work but soon had to go home sick - and I did it for that reason - Exposing my coworkers and passengers was just wrong. Unbelievably my supervisor asked me if there was anyway I could stay to the end of my shift ??? My "are you crazy" look let me off that hook.
I also sat next to another passenger one time who had a horrible cold and did not stop sneezing or try to stifle her misery. I tried leaning away - into the window the whole way but it was impossible. Needless to say, I came down with the worst cold of my life a few days later......home from work for five days. It does make me a little angry but realistically, it's pretty unavoidable.

Additionally, for the record, I've had very ill-looking people checking in for flights and I've offered to rebook them for a day or two later with no charge (yes, they looked that bad). Many gladly accepted. Nothing worse than being stuffed up and unable to breath (or worse) at 35,000 feet.

ysolde

The spousal unit came home from a flight about two months ago, and told me he sat next to a passenger who was visibly ill -- sneezing, coughing, sweaty, the works. As it was a full flight, there was no switching to another seat. He tried his best to lean away from the sick passenger, got up to wash his hands, and used hand sanitizer a lot, but the sick passenger was sneezing and coughing without covering up his mouth, which worried my spousal unit quite a bit.

Sure enough, within 36 hours of coming home, my husband had a nasty cold. Not good.

NHCL

passionforhotels

Well no, because sick people don't choose to get sick and often it's not possible for them to cancel their travel plans. Is it possible for you to easily postpone every single flight you've ever taken? So why would you expect the same of others? Nobody actually enjoys flying ill but sometimes they - like you - have no choice.

That said, ill people should show consideration for others. If you're ill and need to go to the bathroom often, then ask for an aisle seat, not window. And yes, cover mouth and nose every time when sneezing and coughing. If it's possible to move seats, then ask the FA to do so, but if not, all you can do is try to teach the sick person some manners.

Badenoch

Save your lesson on manners. There is no point as the person knows he's sick, took the flight anyway and is not magically going to get well as a result of your "lesson." Nothing you can say addresses the problem in the moment.

Should I be ill on a flight I will do my best to cover my mouth and not inconvenience anyone but I will not wear a mask much less take a later flight. If some random passenger takes it upon themselves to teach me "some manners" they should anticipate a less than courteous response.

akl_traveller

I can get not taking a later flight, but why wouldn't you wear a mask? Seems to me to be equivalent to using a hankie only more effective.

chipmaster

First quote internet troll post?

I am indeed sorry for your experience, but that is the nature of travel, jammed into a small confined area with shared space, shared bathroom, dang even shared armest. There is no way around it if you travel internationally you'll be exposed to people in transit sharing air with them from all corners of the earth. Watch the premise for the remake of the Planet of the Apes

In the far east due to the high population density people who are ill almost always wear mask, but I find that a superficial cosmetic as virus and bacteria aren't going to be stopped by that diffusion barrier but it will slow the spread and distance of discharge.

Because of the correlation you are assuming the neighbor passenger got you sick, but you sure of that, could be it weakend you, could be any on of the millions of people you shared air with or thousands you shared the escalator with, just saying.

Perhaps if you were caring person you might have offered the aisle to the poor traveler, I doubt they wished they were traveling.

Artpen100

And yet people wonder why I avoid traveling international in economy.

Badenoch

There is a difference between using a handkerchief and having one strapped to your face for the duration of a lengthy flight. Masks are awkward, uncomfortable and wearing one while ill is outside of generally-accepted North American cultural norms. No one should be expected to wear a mask simply to assuage the anxiety of adjacent germaphobes and anyone attempting to give a mask to an ill passenger with a suggestion that they wear it should brace themselves for a less than courteous response.

Athena53

I've been in the position of traveling with a bad cold and agree it's not something I WANTED to do- I was expected at the client's the next morning so I got on the plane. I spent most of the night after I arrived listening to myself cough. Agreed on the difficulty/expense of changing flights. "Ask" for a window seat? Ha. (I know this thread was started in 2014 when such things may have been possible.) Travel insurance? Not practical on every trip and typically it covers changes for medical reasons only when a doctor says it's dangerous to you personally to get on the plane. Garden-variety flu wouldn't be covered.

OTOH, I have also traveled with my husband who was 15 years older; he had a weak immune system and ALWAYS ended up with a cold probably caught on the flight, which morphed into pneumonia or bronchitis after we got home. (We loved travel and he was OK with the fact that it would take him a few weeks and some strong antibiotics to recover after our return.) That happened on every major trip the last 3 years of our marriage before he died in 2016. On one memorable occasion, we wanted to buy some duty-free alcohol at MAD; the clerk at the counter was sneezing, sniffling, coughing, etc. We tried to pay at another counter. They sent us back to Typhoid Miguel. We immediately went to our respective restrooms and thoroughly washed our hands but- yes- DH got sick anyway. I'm guessing the clerk would have loved to have been home in bed but got paid only if he showed up.

I appreciate the recommendation of the face mask, though- if I'm ever in the unfortunate position of having to get on a plane when coughing and sneezing, I'm happy to do that to protect other passengers.

akl_traveller

Not disagreeing with any of that, but surely a little cultural embarrassment is worth not making somebody else sick for days/weeks?

Because they *do* work. Just like washing hands and wiping down doorknobs.

You'd wear a bandage if you had a weeping wound; airborne mucus may be smaller but it's still present.

I'm not a germaphobe, but I spent a period of my earlier life in close proximity to many people, and we learned that cleanliness is next to godliness but god doesnt forgive a man who infects his squad/platoon....

DragonSoul

Yes. Of course. Hurt feewings (sic) are far worse that any illness passengers could contract.