Travel Industry Questions New CDC Plane Middle Seat Safety Report

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that keeping middles seats open on airplanes would reduce the risk of catching COVID-19 onboard, but the travel industry isn’t entirely behind the study.

According to CNBC.com, CDC researchers teamed with Kansas State University officials found the spread of coronavirus infections could be reduced by between 23 percent and 57 percent if airlines leave middle seats open.

While the testing supports blocking middles seats, the research did not examine mask-wearing on flights, which is now a federal mandate on airplanes. The study found that “some virus aerosol is emitted from an infectious masked passenger, such that distancing could still be useful.”

In response, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is carefully reviewing the study since it did not take mask mandates into consideration during the testing process.

“The wearing of masks on flights has been airline policy for several months,” an IATA spokesperson said. “Many governments have made it a legal requirement, including in the US, where it has been a federal mandate from January 2021. Scientific studies that have taken into consideration mask-wearing have concluded that the risk of onboard transmission is very low.”

IATA officials said a recent study from the US Transport Command conducted on two passenger aircraft found the overall exposure risk from aerosolized pathogens like coronavirus is “very low” on these types of passenger planes.

Last month, Delta Air Lines revealed it would no longer block middle seats on its aircraft, starting May 1, making it the last carrier to start booking full capacity on its planes.