Infection Prevention and Control in Aviation during COVID-19 Pandemic—A Qualitative Study

Sleep Quality and Mental Health Consequences of COVID-19 Pandemic in the Aviation Community in Greece

“…A study from a Thai airline has shown that, despite the return-to-work intention, occupational exposure poses a major concern for flight personnel and their family members. 38 The high crowd densities in enclosed spaces of air transport increase the transmission risk, 39 and flight duration, which is significantly shorter than the incubation period, allows for most infected passengers to pass the screening implemented at the airports before any symptoms occur, thus proving it ineffective. 40 From another perspective, long, international flights increase the risk of infection or worsening of symptoms, because of travel fatigue, lack of sleep 39 —a profound risk factor for adverse health outcomes 41 —and the consequent immunocompromise.…”

“…38 The high crowd densities in enclosed spaces of air transport increase the transmission risk, 39 and flight duration, which is significantly shorter than the incubation period, allows for most infected passengers to pass the screening implemented at the airports before any symptoms occur, thus proving it ineffective. 40 From another perspective, long, international flights increase the risk of infection or worsening of symptoms, because of travel fatigue, lack of sleep 39 -a profound risk factor for adverse health outcomes 41 -and the consequent immunocompromise. 42 As difficulty working due to the pandemic was among the predictors of anxiety, another cause for the latter could be, except for the quarantine itself, the dramatic change in working schedules, which in some cases involved complete cessation in a company's professional activities.…”

COVID-19 pandemic and air transportation: Successfully navigating the paper hurricane

“… Chen et al (2020a) Based on data for a flight from Singapore to Hangzhou with 335 passengers, the major driver for infections could not be attributed to in-flight transmission, but rather pre-flight exposure to the virus. Chen et al (2020d) In-flight protocols should include: QR-code scanning, better diet preparation, eating peak time reduction, stricter enforcement of lavatory-seat assignment, avoidance of tissue/material sharing among passengers. Choi et al (2020) Based on data for a flight from Boston to Hongkong, it is verified by virus sequencing that the infections spread from a married couple to two business class flight attendants during a flight.…”