Scientists believe airports, at least when it comes to the risk of getting tainted with the coronavirus, are more risky than airlines. After all, airports are packed with travelers who do not wear a mask or practice social distancing. A coronavirus infection at the airport may be hard to prevent.
So, if you’re going to take a vacation, how are you going to defend yourself? Fred Siegel is eager to know. He recently flew from Phoenix to Newark, New Jersey, to attend a family emergency with his wife. He hoped that all the masking laws would be observed by his fellow passengers. Didn’t they.
The encounter left Siegel feeling dangerously vulnerable, a retired state employee. He and his wife were both wearing two masks, just to make sure they were not sick. Luckily, they were safe.
When you transit via a terminal, there are many proven ways of preventing infection. They require extensive risk research, looking for the telltale signs of an unclean airport, and taking the right steps.
The COVID-19 dangers at the airport are real.
But the perspective of Siegel sheds a light on one of the most forgotten forms of travel. Although airlines have gained a lot of coverage for their cleaning efforts, passengers have largely underestimated the possibility of transiting across an airport, but luckily not from my colleagues at USA TODAY.
And while cleaning machines, COVID-19-sniffing dogs and intense cleaning look nice on paper, it is much more likely that you will end up like Siegel during the busy holiday travel season, stuck in a crowd of other passengers who may or may not agree that a threat is the coronavirus.
Take precautionary steps
Are you aware of the cleaning robots that certain airports use? One of the men behind them is Christopher Andrews. He is the head of Mobility and Creativity at Pratt Miller, an engineering production company. And he claims that there’s no substitute for taking care if you want to stop getting poisoned at the airport.
“While our robot can minimize the risk of surface COVID-19 transfer, I believe you should also protect yourself from person-to-person transfer, particularly if you are in a category of high risk,” he says. If you come into contact with a floor, Andrews suggests using a KN95 mask and bringing disinfecting spray or wipes to clean your hands.
“Assume any surface you touch could be infected,” he says. “And to minimize risk, maintain your distance from crowds.”
- Clean it on your own
- Don’t just bring mist or towels for disinfecting.
