Risk of catching Omicron doubles when travelling via planes

• IATA's physician says business class of airplanes may be safer rather than densely packed economy cabins.
• "We will have to assume the risk would be two or three times greater with Omicron compared to delta,” says David Powell.
• Advices travellers to wear masks, maintain social distancing.

Following the emergence of the Omicron variant, a top medical adviser to the world’s airlines warned that aircraft passengers are likely to catch COVID-19 during a flight.

The new variant is spreading faster than previous versions of the virus and has become dominant in a matter of weeks, especially in the US where the new strain accounts for 70% of all new cases, Bloomberg reported.

Early research suggested that the risk of infection is lower on planes because of hospital-grade air filters on modern passenger jets; however, Omicron is spreading as travellers across the world are taking flights to spend end-year holidays.

International Air Transport Association (IATA) Physician and Medical Adviser David Powell stated that rather than densely packed economy cabins, the business class may be safer.

He said: “As before, passengers should avoid face-to-face contact and surfaces that are frequently touched, and people sitting near to each other should try not to be unmasked at the same time during meals.”

Shedding light on the risks of infections during a flight, Powell told Bloomberg: “We would have to assume the risk would be two or three times greater with Omicron compared to whatever the risk was with delta.”

Answering a question regarding what should passengers do to minimise the risks, he recommended that travellers should avoid common-touch surfaces, hand hygiene wherever possible, wear masks, maintain social distancing, etc.

Powell maintained that the advice is the same which has been time and again repeated, it is just that relative risk has probably increased.