Airline Etiquette During the Flu Season

Make Your Best Impression Blog, News & Testimonials, Press Room / Media   ·   November 22, 2009

Remember etiquette in it’s truest form is about how you make other people feel. If this is true, which is it, then what about our part in the process this flu season?

As luck would have it,  I have been flying every other week for business over the past two months. Although it can be a bit awkward to see someone with a mask over their face; I appreciate anyone that takes the extra step to reduce infecting anyone else. What once just seems to be rude (not covering one’s nose when sneezing) is now a true offensive act.

Although you can’t control the health conditions of your fellow travelers, you don’t have to consider yourself doomed.  There are some things you can do to avoid the sniffles.

According a CNN report, they recommend five ways to avoid germs while traveling.

1. Sit toward the front of the airplane

Sit near the front of the plane. This area is closer to the ventilation system on most commercial aircraft and provides better air flow in the front of the aircraft. You also reduce the number of potential people around you that can affect you should a rouge sneeze or cough occur.

2. Don’t drink coffee or tea on an airplane

If you have a sensitive stomach you may want to avoid coffee or tea. Although any bacteria can be destroyed when water is brought to a boiling temperature, it is not gauaranteed that the water airplanes use for coffee and tea heated to that level.

3. Sanitize your hands after leaving an airplane bathroom

“A toilet on an airplane “is among the germiest that you will encounter almost anywhere,” said Charles Gerba, an environmental microbiologist at the University of Arizona who’s also known as “Dr. Germ.”

“You have 50 people per toilet, unless you are flying a discount airline; then it is 75,” Gerba said. “We always find E. coli on surfaces in airplane restrooms.”

You should wash your hands after using the restroom, but because the water itself might have harmful bacteria (see No. 2 above) and because the door handle on your way out has been touched by all those who went before you, Gendreau also advises sanitizing your hands when you return to your seat.

4. Wash or sanitize your hands after getting off an escalator

Gendreau says tests show that escalators in airports are full of germs.

Gendreau says ATMs, especially in busy places like airports, are full of germs. As with escalators, he sanitizes ASAP after using one.

Gendreau says that keeping healthy while traveling can be summed up in six words: “hand hygiene, hand hygiene, hand hygiene.”

Keeping your hands clean is crucial, he says, when you’re spending the day touching surfaces that have been touched by hundreds or thousands of people before you.

Be sure to stay home if you are sick, not to infect others during this holiday season. If you must travel and feel ill, ask to sit in the back, away from the other passengers. Also be sure to always cover your mouth or nose when coughing or sneezing.

Source: CNNHealth.com By Elizabeth Cohen