Health on a Plane

Some years ago there was a film that became a byword for tasteless, mindless movies: Snakes on a Plane.  I managed to miss the experience of fears being exploited.  It there were snakes or something else menacing people within the confines of an airplane, people would feel particularly vulnerable and defenseless, being unable to escape.

Recently I was on a flight across the country, and began to think about the health threats to airline travelers.  It is a modest list.  Obviously, people are not dropping like flies, but concerns are real, and a huge segment of the population, the traveling public, is effected.

So what should travelers worry about?  Coincidentally, the first thing to worry about is worry.  For all but the most seasoned travelers, the airport and airplane experience is stressful, starting with getting to the airport on time, finding a place to park, getting through security, finding the correct gate, discovering that someone else is sitting in your seat and there is no room in the overhead bins for your bag, getting your blood pressure down when the plane is delayed for 73 minutes, waiting on the tarmac for takeoff while the backlog of planes is cleared, sitting in a cramped seat in front of a crying baby, next to someone who gets up a lot to go to the bathroom, finding that when you arrived, your bags did not......Are you stressed out yet?  In the current economic environment, airlines are trying to squeeze out as much inefficiency as possible; human comfort and tranquility do not have places in the systems modeling equations.

Perhaps the next thing is hand hygiene.  Certainly in flu season, one of the most important precautions is to keep your hands clean and away from your face, nose, and mouth.  Airplane hand hygiene is difficult because, in spite of the ad slogan - "You now are free to move about the cabin," people find it not so easy to wash hands.  Most people prefer to stay in their seats unless a trip to the bathroom is unavoidable.  Once security measures were scaled back to permit up to 4 oz. of liquid to be brought through check points, it became possible to carry and use hand sanitizer.  I have not noticed many people using hand sanitizers on planes, but this should become a social norm in the future.  It may be a mixed blessing that airplane food is going away: people will have fewer chances to eat with unwashed hands.

Closely related to hand hygiene is air quality.  On an airliner carrying 150 or more people, it is certain that someone has a cold or flu, and their coughing and sneezing puts at risk, passengers and crew alike.  If protecting health was the only concern, we would have seating in three zones: business class, coach, and sick bay.  While the public's health might benefit, it is hard to see how the airlines gain.  If you are sitting near someone who is sneezing and coughing, you can ask to be moved to another seat if the plane is not full.  You could also have the foresight to carry a surgical mask, putting it on when infection risk goes up.  In other words, there are no reliably good options.  Upper respiratory infection is a risk of commercial flying, not unlike going to work, school, church, or parties.  This risk is unavoidable, with the the backup of flu vaccine for the most severe URI threat.

Another risk is orthopedic problems, from carrying, dragging, and lifting heavy bags.  People could learn to travel lighter, and this would help.  On the other hand, the airlines' recent policy of charging for bag checking probably means that more people have carry on luggage, requiring them to move bags longer and to lift more weight.

There are a few more hazards.  People prone to blood clotting in the legs may have trouble from sitting on long flights.  Mobility is harder on planes than at home or work.  Another risk is the food choices.  We'll know society has shifted when flight attendants come down the aisle with baskets of fresh fruit.  Finally, some people suffer from headaches precipitated by altitude-related pressure changes.

What can be done about all these threats?  Maybe whoever said, "If man was intended to fly, God would have given him wings!" was right?  More realistically, we realize that risk-free living is impossible and perhaps undesirable.  Be prudent when you can.

Most of the problems outlined above are diminished or avoided entirely by train transportation, more on long distance trains, less on commuter trains.  When you can, ride the rails - for your health and the Earth's as well.