Air Travel: Cloth Masks on Some No-Fly Lists; Some Europe Airlines Req. Surg. Masks, Respirators

[appalachiablue]

- 'Why cloth masks are on some airlines’ no-fly lists. Some airlines, mostly in Europe, are requiring surgical masks or respirators.' Washington Post, Sept. 4, 2021.

Air travelers need to do more than just remember to bring a mask — they need to bring the right kind. A handful of airlines, mostly in Europe, have banned cloth face coverings in favor of higher-standard versions including surgical masks or respirators. Last month, Finnair joined a list that includes Air France, Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines and Croatia Airlines.

“The health and safety of our customers and crew is our first priority, and fabric masks are slightly less efficient at protecting people from infection than surgical masks,” Finnair spokeswoman Heidi Lemmetyinen said in an email. The airline allows surgical masks and filtering respirators such as FFP2 or FFP3, as well as others that are equivalent to the N95 standard.

While U.S. airlines do have some restrictions on masks — none with valves are allowed, for example — they do not prohibit travelers from wearing cloth or fabric versions. The federal mask mandate for planes, trains and buses has been extended until mid-January. “Some studies show a modest improvement of efficacy of surgical masks compared with cloth masks,” said Perry Flint, a spokesman for the International Air Transport Association. “But any face covering has shown to significantly reduce spread of aerosols, and at this point we have not taken a position on what types of face masks should be required.”

Experts say it’s a smart idea for more airlines to get specific about the types of face coverings they allow and to only allow those that meet high standards. “It is very important because different masks have different filtration capabilities,” said Purvi Parikh, an immunologist at NYU Langone Health, in an email. “A plane is a place that is indoors and many people in a close space and very difficult to social distance — so masks can make a big difference especially with the delta variant.”..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2021/09/03/cloth-masks-airline-banned-covid/

- Watch Video, *How To Properly Wear A Double Mask* at Link Above,

- BBC, Feb. 2021.

[Liberty Belle]

1. They need a plan to protect flyers from unmasked, unvaxxed kids under 2.

I was stuck next to one who was screaming, squalling, coughing, etc. on a full flight.

They should at least offer plexiglass shields between seats if someone is traveling with a child too young to wear a mask and too young to have a vaccine, or prohibit kids under two, or offer a special section only for parents with very young children. I felt very unsafe, even masked.

[CurtEastPoint]

2. solution

[littlemissmartypants]

3. Fun fact: Plexiglass shields have been shown to trap particles and cause a build up.

The shield approach only caused the particles to multiply and prohibited airflow that could otherwise disburse the virus particles and remove them through an unrestricted air stream.

I can't find the reference but it's out there somewhere.

❤pants

[appalachiablue]

4. That's not good, I've seen them, but important to know

[Liberty Belle]

5. Ugh, thanks, I didn't know that but what else can be done?

[littlemissmartypants]

6. Double mask and face shield are the things being recommended

By all the epidemiology information I've read with social distancing plus extra ventilation when inside.

Air filtration devices like ionizers are also useless to detrimental as the particles get trapped inside them and they do little to maximize air flow.

The one factor that seems to get the least attention (in the real world) is the ventilation issue and just setting up a small device in a room is not the best remedy, airflow is.

Opening doors, windows and running fans while having adequate intake of the air to keep basically flushing fresh air through an area is best. A closed air system with out industrial style filtration, like in a hotel or a home, just recirculates the "bad" air.

One study of a hotel showed how one infected maid contaminated an entire floor of a hotel because of the closed air system. This lead to the infection of several of the guests in rooms on the floor she was responsible for.

I also read where a teacher, who had been in meetings prior to classes starting, was expressing frustration because they were told to keep windows and doors open for ventilation because of Covid and then told to keep doors closed because that's an "active shooter" deterrent. It's a tricky enough situation with Covid alone. I can't imagine how scary a situation it must be for teachers, parents, staff and students but that's a whole different discussion.

So double mask with a surgical mask, N95 (or equal type and not just a single layer cloth mask but a three ply) and wear a face shield while indoors. Maximum air filtration and flow are very important determinants of safety while indoors but not being mentioned enough. They are an integral part of the remediation recommendations most mentioned in epidemiology studies on Covid.

So it's

1) double mask
2) face shield
3) social distance and
4) fresh air flow

❤