Medical research revealed that the window seat is the safest place to sit on a plane to avoid catching coronavirus from an infected passenger, Daily Mail reported.
The publication reported that experts from Emory University modelled the movement of passengers around an aircraft to show how viruses could spread.
The report studied passenger behaviour on flights lasting between three and five hours. Around 38 percent left their seats once and 24 percent more than once.
The passengers who sat by the window barely left their seat. It found that the people closest to the aisle seats were more likely to contact coronavirus. The research found that the more movement on a plane, the higher the chance you may come into contact with someone with the disease.
National Geographic revealed that the team wanted to estimate how many close encounters might allow for transmission during transcontinental flights.
Howard Weiss, professor of biology and mathematics at Penn State University, told National Geographic: “Suppose you’re seated in an aisle seat or a middle seat and I walk by to go to the lavatory. We’re going to be in close contact, meaning we’ll be within a meter. So if I’m infected, I could transmit to you...Ours was the first study to quantify this.” (sic).
The research found that the transfer of the disease depended on the time spent in close contact with an infected person. Passengers were encouraged to use hand sanitizers, avoid touching their faces and avoiding any contact with a coughing passenger.
It revealed that cabin crew should not fly if they have the disease as they frequently interact with passengers during a flight.