Flying home for the holidays? It's not just a canceled flight or missed connection you must worry about. What about all those germs in the plane with you?
Just how high are your chances to get sick because of a flight? We looked at scientific journals, government health studies and talked to this biostatistics expert at Emory University.
The experts all agree germs can travel at least 3 feet in any direction. Meaning anyone in the same row or even a row in front or behind the sick person has an 80% -100% chance of contact.
But across the aisle people in specific aisle seats also have an 80% - 100% of getting sick. But risk drops fast the further away you are from the sick passenger.
The International Air Transport Association says airplanes have filters to help catch germs. That means the risk of contracting an illness on airplanes is probably lower than in many confined spaces because filters capture greater than 99-percent of airborne microbes.
