Most of us understand basic etiquette when it comes to catching a flight, but I experienced first-hand what can go wrong at 38,000 thousand feet with no escape.
Most of us understand basic etiquette when it comes to catching a flight, but I recently experienced first-hand what can go wrong at 38,000 thousand feet with no escape.
Three years of Covid-19 health messaging wasn’t enough to stop what was to unfold in seat 14J on a long-haul flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi, with my neighbour basically missing the memo.
I thought it was all going so well.
But my optimism quickly faded when a fellow traveller boarded the flight, settling into the seat next to me with a heavy bout of what I’m fairly sure was influenza.
Her violent head cold conjured up every possible scenario that could play out over the next 14 hours, the worst one being that I’d catch her cold and miss the bulk of my holiday.
Part of me descended deeper into despair when the woman produced a roll of toilet paper from her bag in a futile attempt to stop the flow, blowing her nose loudly, and then stuffing the used tissues in the pocket below her tray table, which was coincidentally inches away from me.
It was all a little bit gross and this was all starting minutes into my flight.
‘I was trapped’
For this leg of my journey I was also stuck in the window seat.
I’d argue in normal circumstances this would be the optimal position on long flights, yet in this situation there was nowhere to go. I was trapped.
For the brief moments I did exit my row to stretch my legs or use the bathroom, I had to navigate through ground zero, brushing past the infected tissues and hoping for the best that I wasn’t picking up the bug.
Scene of the events that were to unfold over the next 14 hours. Source: Supplied
Relocating to another part of the plane crossed my mind too, but I was on a completely full flight, and this was completely out of the question.
So I was basically stuck in this situation with a face mask, a small amount of hand sanitiser, and growing frustration that didn’t really dissipate until I was off the flight.
I also didn’t want to cause a scene or further discomfort or embarrassment for my neighbour, but it was quite possibly the worst 14 hours I’ve had to endure in recent memory.
Soon the in-flight meals started coming around, and they looked good and smelled even better.
I had a choice to make – go hungry or risk catching a cold? I peeled back my face mask and took my chances.
I usually love small talk but in this instance I dared not to make eye contact with my neighbour, fearing it would all but give away the fact I knew she was very unwell, and that I was basically a sitting duck.
Leaning as far as I could into the window side of my seat, I finished my meal and repositioned my face mask, practising the stoicism of a monk to manage my irritability.
In flight entertainment ended up being the best available antidote to this unfortunate moment, helping cancel out some of my anxieties and give ample distraction.
Now, admittedly I am also being a little bit dramatic about the entire situation, because I landed in Dubai and continued on my journey without any viruses catching a free ride.
And while I was also very grateful to dodge contracting whatever the woman had, others aren’t so lucky.
People sick on planes
Professor Robert Booy is an infectious diseases paediatrician at the University of Sydney, and said he’s hearing about these kinds of situations more often.
“I caught influenza a month ago going to Queensland and I’ve caught Covid a couple of times from people on a plane from people sitting close by without masks,” Mr Booy told news.com.au.
“It’s happening because people are taking things for granted and forgetting that respiratory viral infections spread very easily on planes, to people beside you and around you.”
The president of the Australian Medical Association Professor Steve Robson said it’s been “a particularly bad year” for all sorts of respiratory viruses.
“Not just Covid, but influenza, and all sorts of viruses, and particularly those that affect kids,” he told news.com.au.
Despite a reported drop in Covid cases this winter, the latest NSW data revealed a 37 per cent increase in emergency department presentations with influenza-like illness, and a 30 per cent increase in admissions to hospital in the week to July 2 when compared to the previous week.
And things considered, Professor Robson said it was some kind of miracle that I managed to dodge this woman’s cold.
“Sitting next to somebody in close proximity for a long period if they are unwell with symptoms like sneezing, coughing, blowing their nose.. I think you are incredibly lucky because the risk of catching something is very, very high,” he said.
“We’re seeing hospitals around the country with higher levels of respiratory viruses, they’re really common at the moment.”
“At this time of the year too there’s a massive amount of travel going on, with people having saved up travel, it’s school holidays, all those things are playing out.
“It’s a high risk time.”
Research from Finder last month revealed at least one-third of Australians can’t afford to travel thanks to things like inflation and cost-of-living pressures.
I also couldn’t afford to get sick, but with my limited options on-board this flight, I was basically on a 14 hour pressure test, where all I could do was hope for the best.
What to do if the person next to you is unwell
But if you’re seated next to someone on a flight who is unwell, what are you actually meant to do?
Professor Booy said that anyone with a cold should be wearing a mask, and if you’re next to someone with a cold you should also be wearing a mask to protect yourself, so that you get a “double layer of protection”.
“The airlines will recommend and will supply masks, they don’t require them but they recommend and supply them,” he said.
“You could ask to be reseated, and you could make sure before you get on the plane that you are fully vaccinated.
“You could refrain from conversation with that person, because when your faces are pointed in the same direction, respiratory contamination through the air is more likely.”
As soon as you get off the flight, Professor Robson also recommends flushing your nose with saline solution to reduce your risk of infection.
“There’s some evidence that if you think you’re at risk, if you get to a bathroom or get hold of a nasal flush as soon as you can to exposure as well as usual hand hygiene,” he said.
Do you also mention the situation to a flight attendant?
Professor Robson said that decision is really up to you, but you also don’t want to be branded what he calls a “illness nimby”, an acronym for “not in my backyard”.
“It’s like when people don’t want a power station built next door to their place, they call them nimbys. Well I call them illness nimbys and of course it’s normal to not want to be the one person on the plane where the sick person gets put next to you, but look if there’s some spare capacity on a flight [to move them elsewhere] it makes sense.”
When it comes to these issues, Professor Robson added that the way we handle them has changed thanks to the pandemic.
“People recognise there are ways that you can now protect yourself, it’s really in no one’s interests to get sick if you can avoid it, particularly if you’re travelling, and on a holiday,” he said.
“There’s nothing worse, you’ve been saving up, waiting through Covid to go on this trip of a lifetime, you’re put next to someone sick and by the time you land you’re sick yourself. You don’t enjoy the holiday,
“I don’t think anybody wants that either, so some precautions to make sure you have a healthy, happy, productive holiday – or if you’re coming home from your holiday, you don’t want to take it home to your family, these are the reasons to avoid getting sick on flights.”
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