//How risky is air travel in the pandemic? Here’s what the science says.

How risky is air travel in the pandemic? Here’s what the science says.

A passenger on a flight from San Francisco to Newark, New Jersey, on October 27. | Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

The airline industry says getting on a plane is safe. But nothing is perfectly safe when it comes to Covid-19.

According to the airline industry, it’s safe to fly during the Covid-19 pandemic. United Airlines boasts that the “risk of exposure to Covid-19 is almost non-existent on our flights.” Southwest Airlines has opened up middle seats for passengers, saying the odds of catching the coronavirus on a plane are “similar to the odds of being struck by lightning.”

Airline companies clearly have an interest in selling more tickets. But should we buy their confidence?

At the beginning of the pandemic, people who were infected with the virus boarded planes and rapidly seeded outbreaks all over the world. But whether planes themselves are a dangerous place