Where to sit to avoid getting sick on a plane

It’s every traveller’s nightmare - heading off on holidays only to clock a spluttering, coughing passenger about to board the same plane.

Now, a new study has revealed there are ways to avoid getting infected by that sick passenger, and it might have everything to do with the seat you’re in.

In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 14 researchers took five round-trip flights in the US, four of them during flu season.

With the movements of 1540 passengers, and 41 crew members analysed, scientists found there was one particular type of seat that helped minimise contact with others.

Window seat lovers rejoice, you’re making the right choice by foregoing the luxury of getting up whenever you want for the isolation of the window.

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According to the study, passengers in window seats had contact with 12 other passengers on average, compared to 58 contacts for middle seats and 64 for those in the aisle.

For those freaking out when they start hearing someone sneeze in their general vicinity, take a second to look around.

With the flu commonly spread by small respiratory droplets that fly through the air, scientists say there’s a danger zone – and it’s restricted to a particular area.

“The analysis showed that passengers sitting within two seats on either side of a person infected with the flu, as well as those sitting one row in front of and one row behind this individual, had about an 80 percent chance of getting sick,” reports Live Science.

There you have it: if you hear a cougher, suss out where they are, and decide whether you need to harass your air hostess for a seat change.

“It’s pretty clear that if you’re seated more than a metre away from an infected passenger and you’re careful with hand hygiene, you’re unlikely to get infected with the flu,” study author Howard Weiss explained.

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