Passenger travelling whilst really ill

[Notjustanother]

Took a flight to Berlin last week. Woman next to me was coughing the entire flight; deep phlegmmy cough and spitting stuff up. Clearly should have been in bed. It was grim. As a minimum she should have been wearing a mask.

Five days later I felt very ill, and tested positive for Covid. A former colleague who also happened to be on the flight, sitting in front of this woman, has also tested positive.

Since then I have lost half a stone in weight, been horrendously ill and am having difficulty breathing. Today we were supposed to be going away for a much looked forward to half term holiday, we have had to cancel and pay the £200 insurance excess.

The woman was on a mini break with her husband, but did some work on the flight. She works for a law firm.

Would I be unreasonable to contact the law firm and complain - especially as she was working for them during the flight. I have her name.

I am furious that her rank selfishness has made me (and others on the flight) so ill. There could be no doubt that she was going to infect others on the flight, and must have known that there was a high risk that she had Covid.

I think she needs to be made accountable for her actions, or at the very least be made aware of how her actions have affected others. AIBU?

My dbro/SIL have retired and take regular mini breaks. They have caught and had to fly to return home with covid 3 times in the last 2 years.

You can only influence your own decisions and if you choose to travel, especially during flu season, you accept the increased risk of picking up viruses along the way.

I would be very cross too.

Its incredibly selfish as you say.

However I don’t think her work will care. I think they’ll be glad she travelled back for her job which she may have needed to be there for the next day.

You could get in touch just so that she knows the effect her actions had but not sure if it’ll work.

Sorry about your half term break

Out of curiosity - what on earth would you expect the company to do?

Flying back from Orlando I’d say about 1/3 of the passengers were coughing and pil both ended up with covid. Previous years, dh usually gets a bad cold after a flight because the air is circulated. I don’t think travel insurance pays to cover rebooking flights and hotels for a bad cough so of course people travel. The alternative is often very expensive.

And @JustAMinutePleass how is the lawyer customer facing? Odd description.

Given teachers, healthcare professionals etc are expected to work with covid what do you think a law firm’s policy will be?

You know people are travelling with all sorts of viruses currently. Did you think to wear a mask yourself if you were concerned?

Yes it's annoying but there are no longer any rules about travelling with covid and wearing a mask.
It would be unreasonable to message the firm about it. What are they going to do about it anyway?

And you always have the option to carry a couple of FFP2 masks in your bags for situations like that and put one on if you are seated next to someone coughing like that.

Thanks for the advice. I also happen to be a former corporate lawyer, and I’m not convinced that is the case.

Especially if I were to explain that I knew which firm to contact as I read every word of the draft settlement agreement she was working on, including the parties, terms of settlement and strict confidentiality clauses.

Its the classic case they warn trainees to avoid.

Ok so what are you really complaining about - the fact you think she gave you covid or that she was working without a privacy screen?

You sound pretty vindictive TBH.

I was out and about with what I thought was a mild cold for 2 or 3 days before I realised it was covid. Should I ask my boss to give me a bollocking too?

I would personally email her directly and call out her shitty morals - she wasn’t even wearing a mask, right? That’s so selfish of her. Even if she claims it was a common cold I think she should have been masked. I’d be livid about her selfishness if I were you OP — it’s an airplane where you’re much more likely to make people sick, not a quick trip to the supermarket. But then I am confrontational and have no issue with calling out strangers if I think they’re clearly in the wrong.

havent RTFT but I thought the rules were you could travel / go about your life with covid if you felt well / were largely symptomless which she wasn’t?

I hate this, I got covid from X person- you have no idea.

My friend is how you describe every day, having tests done at hospital, it's debilitating. She still carries on but definitely doesn't have covid.

I had covid a few weeks ago. Even after testing negative my cough which was extremely productive was still there. It has abated a lot but am still producing phelm. For this reason I do carry anti hand back and use it after coughing and binning my tissue.

One of the downsides of using public transport is having to share it with members of the public, some of whom may be unwell and spread illnesses. You'd hope that people would be sensible about travelling while unwell if they have a choice (many won't) but really if you don't want to catch illnesses from others, it would be sensible to give air travel and other forms of public transport a wide berth. Maybe I'm a bit more blasé than most about this, but I had to commute by tube in London in rush hour for many years (don't have to now, thank goodness!) and in the winter months it often seemed that most of the carriage was unwell and coughing.

I know several people who have been very ill after traveling recently, sometimes for weeks. It seems to be a risk of flying. Obviously this woman should have stayed at home, but people don't care.

Presumably you know where she works because you could see her laptop, rather than having a chat with her; her employers maybe concerned about the GDPR implications.

Well indeed. I get buses and trains most days with people coughing. Bu have only had covid once - virtually symptomless omicron infection in early 2022.

This. Unfortunately people are allowed to travel or go to work despite suspecting they have Covid (or other viruses). It's frustrating and incredibly selfish of them but legally they can even if it's morally questionable. I caught Covid on a flight in similar circumstances and it ruined my holiday and my birthday (that I spent isolating and feeling ill while I was away in Australia - thanks to the passenger who didn't care!) I now carry N95 masks with me when I fly just in case I end up sitting near someone like this.

May be we would go one further and tar and feather people who cough in public or make them carry some sort of little warning bell?

Like others have said there are no rules any more so people will do as they will.

However it is very sad that many people don’t seem to have applied the Covid silver lining which would be, very simply, if you aren’t well no matter whether covid or any other sniffy cough type thing, to wear a proper FF2 or 3 mask as a basic courtesy to others. Wouldn’t we all appreciate that courtesy towards us? Yes, before anyone says, masks don’t work, well use the best you can.

Personally, I will try to protect myself with similar mask if I’m worried about catching others’ bugs, covid or otherwise.

No to contacting employer, unless you’re reporting her for breach of confidentiality!

@Notjustanother I wouldn't contact her firm about Covid but I would about her doing confidential work where the public can see intimate details. That's basic stuff

I've got a cough like that at the moment. Three weeks after having a really horrible cold, it just won't shift. It isn't covid though, as have been testing frequently due to members of my direct family having contact with someone who really shouldn't catch covid. You could have caught it anywhere. I'm going on holiday and I'm sure I'll be judged on the plane, but there's nothing I can do about it.

Totally inappropriate to contact her law firm.

So you're going to report her for a breech of data security, which may cost her her livelihood, because you suspect she may have given you covid? That's incredibly vindictive of you, and far outweighs the (unproven) behaviour you suspect her of.

What an odd thread! You could have caught it anywhere. Presumably you were sightseeing in Berlin and eating in restaurants etc?

DD is cabin crew and says most flights have loads of people coughing and spluttering … she’s never had covid 🤷🏼‍♀️