Flying during pandemic

[crazy charlie]

My wife and I are about to cancel our annual trip from the cold to Fla out of caution.We are schedules to fly Southwest and unfortunately they did away with their "no middle seat passenger"during covid policy .Has anyone flown during covid ??? Am I crazy even considering it?? Charlie

 

[alldodge]

Have not gone anywhere in a year. I might be going overboard but we are still healthy.

Have friends which have traveled (flown, drove) and some have no issues, other not so well

Guess the question is how lucky are you at roulette ?

 

[BWR1953]

I sure as heck would NOT get on a plane right now. Not for any reason.

I pretty much don't do anything either. Didn't go inside any stores for about 6 months, then I made a mistake on New Year's Eve and went to Clearwater Beach with my family. We ate at a restaurant in the outdoor section and about 15 minutes after we arrived, a young family showed up. A couple minutes later their son, about 8 or 9 years old, sneezed without covering his mouth or nose. Fortunately, they were downwind of us but it still freaked me out a little. My doctor bluntly told me that if I get covid-19, I'm done. So I went back to being extra super careful again.

And I have a very good friend of 40+ years who has it right now. Started having symptoms a week ago and was confirmed 6 days ago. He wasn't nearly as careful as me and went out with friends at least twice a week and worked in a job that put him at risk too. So, he got clobbered.

He lives alone and 2 years ago had triple bypass surgery plus a valve replacement and pacemaker. Super high risk. I'm very, very worried about him.

It's been said that if you think you're being paranoid, then you're probably not being paranoid enough. I agree with that sentiment.

 

[WIMUSKY]

U wouldn't catch me flying. But we still are planning on driving south and camping in a month. Unless these mutated strains go bonkers b4 then...
Seems like there's new strains weekly...

 

[redneck joe]

yeah if driving is an option i'd do that if you are high risk. That said not sure i'd worry about middle seats much, still not a lot of people flying.

fun story, a few years ago we were talking to a SW flight attendant and the middle seat and he leaned in a whispered - its easy to scare people away - just wear a face mask.

Times have changed.

 

[DeepCMark58A]

I flew to Florida 2 weeks ago flying back home tomorrow. I treated it no different than how I treat it at home. Wear a mask, social distance wash your hands. I fly up front so I don't know how it is in coach nobody was in front or behind me. I felt safer in the airport and on the plane than I did mingling with floridian idiots at Publix.

 

[southkogs]

I flew one way back in late November. Airport felt vacant, but the airplane was actually full. I had expected the empty seat, but we didn't have that. I wasn't any more or less comfortable than normal though (I don't like being that cramped with other people when there isn't a pandemic).

How "crazy" it is is your call. Personally, while I respect COVID for what it is I'm not that afraid of it. Your health, and how your body responds to viruses will tell you how concerned to be about it.

 

[dingbat]

As an essential infrastructure support personnel, I don’t have a choice. Im on the road on a regular basis and fly once or twice a month.

As such, the first thing I did was a risk assessment the situation. Given my health, age, ethnicity and location, the John Hopkins risk assessment tool puts my two sigma risk of dying from COVID at 6.7 per 100,000.

Simplified, that puts my odds of dying from COVID at 1 in 14,925.
The odds of me dying from occupational exposure (electrocution and radiation exposure) are greater than COVID

Drowning	1 in 1,121
Fire or smoke	1 in 1,399
Choking on food	1 in 2,618
Bicyclist	1 in 4,060
Sunstroke	1 in 7,770
Accidental gun discharge	1 in 9,077
Electrocution, radiation, extreme temperatures, and pressure	1 in 12,484
Sharp objects	1 in 29,480

 

[aspeck]

I will probably be flying to Ghana soon. It has been 2 years since I was there ... I need to get there to check on things ... no looking forward to the 3 COVID tests I will have to take ... before leaving the US, arriving in Ghana, and before leaving Ghana. And I will have had the vaccine and booster by then.

 

[Krazeehorse]

My wife will be taking her second pandemic round trip flight in February. Mask on and carry hand sanitizer. But we go out to restaurants and shopping without fear, just use precautions. The risk I won't take is being a guinea pig for the vaccine. And I'm high risk too, defibrillator and all.

 

[WIMUSKY]

I will probably be flying to Ghana soon. It has been 2 years since I was there ... I need to get there to check on things ... no looking forward to the 3 COVID tests I will have to take ... before leaving the US, arriving in Ghana, and before leaving Ghana. And I will have had the vaccine and booster by then.

Doesn't seem like it's been that long. What's the Covid situation over there?

 

[ezbtr]

I travelled for years, I wouldn't now and we havent since 18 ish mos ago for daughters wedding, planes are not safe/germ free, blah blah blah, youre stuck in a tube w/ recycled air and fumes

 

[aspeck]

Doesn't seem like it's been that long. What's the Covid situation over there?

My trip a year and a half ago was cut because of my heart issues and the valve replacement surgery I had. Then COVID happened after recovery from surgery ... so yep, 2 years next month.

Ghana has about 30 million people and has had just under 60,000 cases. They reported 658 new cases today...

 

[WIMUSKY]

My trip a year and a half ago was cut because of my heart issues and the valve replacement surgery I had. Then COVID happened after recovery from surgery ... so yep, 2 years next month.

Ghana has about 30 million people and has had just under 60,000 cases. They reported 658 new cases today...

Wow.... Time flies when you're having fun...

 

[dingbat]

planes are not safe/germ free, blah blah blah, youre stuck in a tube w/ recycled air and fumes

The airflow in today's aircrafts have been measured at three times the amount mandated for infection control rooms in hospitals,” said Drs. Shoor and Ortega. “It takes the ventilation system of a plane about six minutes to reduce the number of viral particulates in the air by 99.9%.​

“This fact alone reduces risk significantly compared to office buildings, restaurants or homes,” they added.

6 things doctors wish patients knew about flying during the pandemic

While COVID-19 cases continue to swiftly rise and people are encouraged to celebrate virtually, here’s what you should know if you decide to fly.

www.ama-assn.org

 

[crazy charlie]

Thanks for all of your replies!!! I dont know why my original post was closed to additional replies??? My wife and I have been so careful during this unusual time that I dont think the risk outweighs the reward.........but we really could use to get our feet in the sand!! Maybe we will just postpone for a few months. Not a fan of driving but maybe......NY to Fla I would have to do in 3 parts,cant to 10 hrs a day behind the wheel no way.I also posted this topic in a local neighborhood forum and received a ton of replies ,most from those that have flown recently.The general opinion is that it is safe.I also received a reply from a pilot that also flys as a passenger at least once a week and claims that it is fine to do.Southwest was keeping middle seat empty however they have recently pulled back on that policy.I just cant do it.Possibly sitting inches from someone else...cant do it.Someone sitting less than 6 feet behind us and infront of us.The first time someone coughs or sneezes will freak us out. This will be the first time in over 20 years we are not heading south in Feb .Better safe than sorry.....I guess.Thanks again guys!! Charlie