The risk of being infected on an airplane is negligible, according to IATA.

The chance of catching covid-19 on an airplane is 1 in 27 million, according to a study by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The organization has reached this conclusion by comparing the number of confirmed, probable and potential infections associated with a flight with the number of passengers who have traveled during the same period.

Data collected by airlines show that air travel is one of the safest modes of transportation before and during the pandemic. Since the beginning of the year, some 1.2 billion people have traveled by plane 1.2 billion people and only 44 contagions have been reported. IATA points out that this is an extremely low rate.

For their part,Airbus,,Boeing and Embraer have conducted research of their own and also conclude that the risk on aircraft isinsignificant. According to the manufacturers' joint publication, the ventilation and the HEPA filters, among other aircraft features, control the movement of particles in the cabin, which limits the spread of the virus.

In this regard, IATA stresses that, although there is no miracle formula that allows travel with zero risk, the combination of the design of the aircraft and the use of the mask drastically reduces the transmission of the virus on board.

In the same vein, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Defense published by Sky News, the risk of contracting the coronavirus on a plane if everyone wears masks and does not stand up is 0.003%.

The main conclusion of the study, conducted on Boeing 777 and 767 United Airlines aircraft, is that masks help reduce exposure to infection when someone coughs, even if all seats are full and even if the infected person is seated next to them.