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Behaviors, movements, and transmission of droplet-mediated respiratory diseases during transcontinental airline flights

Author

Listed:
  • Vicki Stover Hertzberg

    (Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322)

  • Howard Weiss

    (School of Mathematics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30313)

  • Lisa Elon

    (Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322)

  • Wenpei Si

    (Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322)

  • Sharon L. Norris

    (Boeing Commercial Airplanes, The Boeing Company, Bellevue, WA 98004)

  • The FlyHealthy Research Team

Abstract

With over 3 billion airline passengers annually, the inflight transmission of infectious diseases is an important global health concern. Over a dozen cases of inflight transmission of serious infections have been documented, and air travel can serve as a conduit for the rapid spread of newly emerging infections and pandemics. Despite sensational media stories and anecdotes, the risks of transmission of respiratory viruses in an airplane cabin are unknown. Movements of passengers and crew may facilitate disease transmission. On 10 transcontinental US flights, we chronicled behaviors and movements of individuals in the economy cabin on single-aisle aircraft. We simulated transmission during flight based on these data. Our results indicate there is low probability of direct transmission to passengers not seated in close proximity to an infectious passenger. This data-driven, dynamic network transmission model of droplet-mediated respiratory disease is unique. To measure the true pathogen burden, our team collected 229 environmental samples during the flights. Although eight flights were during Influenza season, all qPCR assays for 18 common respiratory viruses were negative.

Suggested Citation

  • Vicki Stover Hertzberg & Howard Weiss & Lisa Elon & Wenpei Si & Sharon L. Norris & The FlyHealthy Research Team, 2018. "Behaviors, movements, and transmission of droplet-mediated respiratory diseases during transcontinental airline flights," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 115(14), pages 3623-3627, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:nas:journl:v:115:y:2018:p:3623-3627
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    Cited by:

    1. Haque, Md Tabish & Hamid, Faiz, 2023. "Social distancing and revenue management—A post-pandemic adaptation for railways," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    2. Michael Schultz & Jörg Fuchte, 2020. "Evaluation of Aircraft Boarding Scenarios Considering Reduced Transmissions Risks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-20, July.
    3. Sun, Xiaoqian & Wandelt, Sebastian & Zheng, Changhong & Zhang, Anming, 2021. "COVID-19 pandemic and air transportation: Successfully navigating the paper hurricane," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    4. Arnold Barnett & Keith Fleming, 2022. "Covid-19 infection risk on US domestic airlines," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 347-362, September.
    5. Pavlik, J.A. & Ludden, I.G. & Jacobson, S.H., 2022. "SARS-CoV-2 aerosol risk models for the Airplane Seating Assignment Problem," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).

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