Would you fly at the moment?

[Takemetothebeach91]

For things like holidays or visiting family abroad etc, do you think it’s safe? Are you happy with flying or are you avoiding it?

No chance!

The air on aeroplanes is filtered not recycled.

For info that's not right (it's certainly not the case for most airliners).

Some of the air you breath is from a "top up", fresh in conditioned air from outside.

The balance of the air in the cabin has been recycled, but as part of that process it has gone through HEPA filters before being reintroduced to the cabin...and FWIW having gone through the cabin a percentage of the air is dumped overboard, hence the need for the continual "top up".

Nope

August is looking very popular for holidays (as expected with school holidays) as our pet sitter has said she is now fully booked and has never had so many enquires.

Took a 9 hour flight at the weekend. Was amazingly civilised. Airport quiet, hand sanitiser everywhere you looked, people all being strangely polite. Flight itself was uneventful although food was all pre-packed (and pretty uninteresting). Was probably the calmest flying experience I ever had, and masking the whole time was actually ok (and I hate the bloody masks).
Slight hiccup is that however two people on the plane tested positive when we landed! Hasn’t impacted us at all except we’ve been given thermometers and asked to check our temperatures. I think the people in the immediate vicinity of where the positive people were seated have to have another test in 5 days.

no - I used to fly a lot for work and now all our meetings are online.

and flying for a holiday just seems very unnecessary, both for COVID and for climate change.

No, but I'm not a great flier at the best of times!!

With regards to the air quality on a plane, what I meant a was that it has gone through the HEPA filters. Therefore arguably cleaner than air in an office with air con etc? That was my understanding but correct me if I’m wrong.

I previously thought I was breathing in everyone’s air that was just circulating and being recycled with no filters and someone corrected me and said it’s actually quite clean.

No. I hate flying at the best of times and it would be even worse at the minute, so I just wouldn’t fancy it.

No.

This is a pandemic. We are viral vectors.

Just because politicians say we can travel around the world does not mean we should.

Yep, I just got back from Spain. Glad we went when we did! As PP's have said our flight was very calm and relaxing! Off to Greece end of Aug, can't wait. Although don't fancy long haul in the current situation.

Not a chance. Don't even plan on driving to another country within the UK until next year........ gutted at missing our Cornwall holiday earlier this month but can't take the risk with dh shielding and his health issues.

With regards to the air quality on a plane, what I meant a was that it has gone through the HEPA filters. Therefore arguably cleaner than air in an office with air con etc?

That's also my take on it...In terms of air quality I'd rather sit in a aircraft than be on the tube/bus/in an office.

Definitely not

Definitely not. I would drive through Europe though, although we aren't going anywhere this year.

What is annoying, is that we already had two weeks off, which is now, and pretty much anywhere you need to go is pre-bookable, usually already full booked by NT and RHS members, and when you get there, many of the toilets and cafe's aren't open, anywhere inside is still closed, and they are still charging the same extortionate rates. Humph.

@2155User

Have booked 3 holidays for the next 6 weeks.

Anyone who outright says no they won't needs to educate themselves on risk assessment.

What a patronising comment.. Your risk isn't someone else's risk.

I'm going on holiday which was already booked but i wouldn't patronize someone else like you have.

@2155User

Ok then, I’m a Doctor. Educate me on your risk assessment.

Everyone’s tolerance of the risks are different which is why some of us are travelling this summer and others not. There is no right or wrong - we are all different.

We are flying to greece end of August, flip flopped a bit about it, i think do t think flying to greece increases our chance of catching covid 19 considering we are shopping, going to hairdressers working in an office etc but i am bit worried about potential restrictions when we get there and the extra checks at airport, dh family have a house out there so thats why we are going.

Agree with other posters that 2155User's comment is very silly. I have done a risk assessment, so I know that Covid-19 is an unpredictable disease which has severe health consequences for a substantial proportion of people who get it, and that because the virus is so new, no one knows its long term consequences. I know that as someone aged over 50 I am at higher risk than a younger person. I know that you are much more likely to catch Covid-19 if you are in an enclosed space close to an infected person. I know that Covid-19 rates in the UK are at a level which means that the risk of being sat next to an infected person on the plane is far from negligible, and that rates of Covid-19 infection appear to be rising again. Taking all these factors into account, I have decided that I wish to avoid being in enclosed spaces with strangers for the time being. If I wish to take a holiday, I can holiday in the UK and drive there,avoiding having to sit next to strangers for hours in an enclosed space. So having completed my risk assessment, I have decided thI will not choose to fly at present.

I'm going to Majorca on Sunday, from a very quiet airport on a half-full flight. The masks don't bother me, we're staying in a hotel where we know what's open and what's closed, but we have upgraded to a room with a big balcony with loungers so we have some private outdoor space too. On our return we get tested at the airport and then isolate until we get the results (24-48 hours).

I work in the travel industry and all of our jobs are now relying on people having confidence; I can't encourage my clients to go if I'm not willing myself.

Neither DP nor I have any elderly/vulnerable parents or relatives living near us to worry about, no DC yet, and have been penned up in a small one-bedroom 3rd floor flat since March, both doing increasingly stressful jobs from home. This break is much needed and I feel that the small risk to us is worth it.

@PaddyF0dder

WHO said the risk of catching the virus is just over 1/100, with pretty similar stats for the risk of dying in a car crash that I've found.

If you're willing to get in a car for a non essential journey etc, then in my view you can't say that flying on a plane is too risky, because the risk level is the same.

I understand that this obviously doesn't applying to people with underlying conditions etc who will be more severely impacted by the virus if they catch it

@2155User

Lifetime of incident risk? Absolute or relative?

I assume in devising your risk assessment you took account of the risk of spreading it to others, the risk of morbidity as opposed to mortality, and compared it to the risk of morbidity and mortality due to lockdown as opposed to direct virus effect?

Please educate me. Always fascinated to hear the methodology of one so informed.

I live abroad (US west coast) and at the start assumed we wouldn’t be going home this summer. Have spent the last 2 months flip flopping and really don’t know what to do. I’m desperate to see my family especially if a winter second wave means we can’t see them at Christmas BUT taking the DC on a transatlantic flight would mean 13+ hours of wearing a mask, probs more as the only vaguely reasonable flights we’d have to change and have up to a 5hour layover and we’re coming from a hotspot so I don’t feel like it’s very responsible. It’s breaking my heart though....

I wouldn’t be booking a holiday as part of travelling for me is food and culture so if I can’t experience that then I’ll wait until everything is open again