A new study suggests that the risk of passengers being exposed to the virus from an infected person on the plane could be reduced by 23% to 57% if the middle seats are empty, compared to a full flight .
No masks
Researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Kansas State University have estimated the distance that airborne virus particles travel inside an airplane . To do this, they used aerosol-emitting mannequins to measure the flow of virus particles through airplane cockpit mockups.
However, the study did not take into account the use of masks because it was based on an earlier study conducted in 2017, before the pandemic .
It also did not consider whether the passengers are vaccinated against COVID-19. The CDC says vaccinated people can travel at low risk to themselves, although the agency still recommends not traveling without it for essential activities.