- Joined
- May 11, 2019
- Messages
- 3,621
- Location
- United States
- Vessel Name
- Muirgen
- Vessel Make
- 50' Beebe Passagemaker
OK, I did some searches. This quote best summarizes what basically all the sources I found say:
Pretty much what I'd heard before. The air is about 50% recirculated.
Of course, while you're sitting on the plane waiting to leave, or after arriving, it might all be recirculated. On some flights I've been on, that could be a long time.
Getting back to the original point, there's some risk in everything you do.
There is ABSOLUTELY risk in everything we do. Some of the newer air frame manufacturers are beginning to introduce recirculating cabin air, running the recirculated air through Hepa filters. It's always been a trade off. Filters cost money on a recurring basis, also add weight, but recirculating reduces amount of high pressure air you "rob" from engines. High pressure air comes at the expense of more fuel burned. So they balance the cost of filters/weight with the reduced fuel burn in recirculating. The amount of re-circulation (if the aircraft in question has that feature) can be adjusted anywhere from no re-circulation, to about 30% re-circulation (from Boeing literature). I have been told (I don't have a credible reference for you, unfortunately, only what I found on the internet) that airlines that have aircraft equipped to re-circulate have opted to NOT re-circulate at the present time, due to health concerns with Covid-19.
Although I don't think the risk of exposure from Covid-19 while traveling in aircraft is very great, we are opting to not travel via air travel at the present time, and to DEFINITELY not consider commercial cruising, the latter possibly permanently. As stated before, it's all about managing risks. Become informed, assess the risks, manage the risks and live your lives.
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