UAE: How safe is air travel during Covid pandemic?

UAE: How safe is air travel during Covid pandemic?

Is it safe to travel by air amid the raging Covid-19 pandemic? The swirling conversation is about the airborne SARS-CoV-2, which causes the contagion, as questions abound: whether there is a risk of aerosol transmission on a flight's cabin? These are some of the pertinent questions that experts at a medical aviation conference held in Dubai addressed, as they reiterated that air travel is the safest mode of travel during the pandemic. At a time when people are avoiding travel due to fear of contracting Covid-19, experts at the first edition of the Burjeel Medical Aviation Congress organised by Burjeel Hospital, Dubai, a unit of VPS Healthcare, urged the public to follow safety measures on flights and at airports. "The risk of contracting an infection is very low during air travel,“ said Dr John Chalkley, an aviation medical expert. " All aviation companies are following an international protocol and have adopted all safety measures to ensure the health and well-being of the passengers,“ he said. Dr Chalkley stated that his conclusions were drawn from several studies, which indicate the effectiveness of safety measures in the aircraft. However, he emphasised that the focus should be on community guidelines at the airport