Dangers to health Why you should not sit in the front of the plane

In the front area of ​​an aircraft, the health hazard increases

Many travelers reserve seats for their flight in the front area of ​​the aircraft. After all, you do not have to wait a long time to get in or out. But for health reasons, the seats in the first rows of an aircraft are not recommended, as shown in a study.

Health risks during air travel

Air travel poses a health risk for a variety of reasons. Not only because the risk of thrombosis is increased on the plane, but also because, according to studies, sometimes toxic air is in aircraft cabins that can cause illness. In addition, getting into the machine can pose a risk, because when boarding the risk of infecting with infectious diseases, especially large. Especially passengers who are sitting far in front are at risk.

According to a study by American researchers, the health risk for passengers who are far in front of the plane, greater than for those who have seats further back. (Image: Michael Schütze / fotolia.com)

Tripartite boarding is the worst method

"Air travel is the fastest way to get to the destination, but it's also one of the fastest ways to spread infectious disease," states Arizona State University.

Researchers at the US university have investigated in a study, how diseases spread during air travel and how the risk can be reduced.

Professor Anuj Mubayi's researchers noted that the current three-piece boarding technique, which requires passengers to board first-class, mid-range and rear-end aircraft, is the worst strategy to reduce the number of people infected.

The reason for this is that the passengers are forced to stand close to other people while they wait to get to their seats.

In this case, pathogens can be easily transmitted. Those sitting far in the front are more exposed to the danger as the passengers who have seats behind them have to pass them by.

Spread of pathogens is favored

Scientists led by Ashok Srinivasan of Florida State University came to similar conclusions last year. Using computer simulations, they showed that block-by-board entry promotes the spread of pathogens.

"If you have multiple zones, people in the same zone tend to be very close together, close enough to carry infections," Srinivasan said in a statement.

As the experts noted in their study, published in the journal "Physical Review", it would be better if the cab would be filled instead in the longitudinal direction, ie first to the right and then to the left.

Random is safer

Even better is the random principle, as the passengers "then less likely to spend a long time in the vicinity of others," said the study author.

"On the whole, random boarding takes longer, but if passengers could choose to sit between Ebola and a few minutes later, we suspect they would prefer the latter."

The study also showed that infections in smaller aircraft spread less frequently than in larger aircraft, as larger passenger groups increase the risk of contracting a communicable disease.

The background of the study was the Ebola epidemic, which was also spreading in 2014 due to travelers, and spread in West Africa. The deadly disease had not been ruled out in Germany at the time. (Ad)