According to social media, my friends and my own personal experience, it seems like there were plenty of sick passengers on every flight this past holiday season. I was on four airplanes over the holidays and all flights had visibly and audibly sick people. In fact, on one flight, a passenger came very close to jeopardizing our already delayed flight because she ran to the bathroom while taxiing for takeoff. RELATED: 8 health items to add to your toiletry bag when you travel
Here’s what happened on two of the flights: Just before Christmas, I flew from Los Angeles (LAX) to Chicago (ORD) on American Airlines. My wife and kids were in the bulkhead and I was in the row behind them, across the aisle. A couple sat behind them with who I assume was their adult son. They all seemed quite nice but one the mother was definitely sick; she had a box of tissues on her tray table and she smelled really bad. I mean, really bad, but that’s another story.
I was thankful she covered her mouth each time she hacked but she coughed directly into her hands, which defeats the purpose of covering your mouth. Here’s a refresher on the proper way to cough and sneeze to minimize the spread of germs:
I was also dismayed to see her put her dirty tissues on the tray table. After seeing this, I won’t be ever using a tray table without wiping it down with a disinfectant wipe. Or you could use a tray table cover like this one, which also comes with a pocket organizer so you never have to use the seatback pocket (the dirtiest thing on the plane) again.
BTW: If you have dirty tissues that you don’t know what to do with, the most sanitary option is to put them in the barf bag since the missing ones are replaced each flight. And always clean your hands with hand sanitizer after handling dirty tissues if you can’t wash your hands. This is the hand sanitizer we always travel with.
Upon landing, we spent the night in Chicago O’Hare’s Hilton and the following morning, we flew to Toronto, Canada. On that hour-long flight, operated by Envoy Air as American Eagle, I sat in 8C of the Embraer 175. I was in the very first row of economy with no seat blocking me so I had an excellent view of the first class cabin. See photo above.
The flight attendant, whose name, I think, was Hassan, was easily the best flight attendant ever working a regional flight. He greeted every First Class passenger by name and was very pleasant, professional and attentive.
After speaking with him, I learned that it was his last day at American Eagle as he was about to start an eight-week training course to start flying mainline. He speaks four languages and is planning to work AA’s new Dallas to Doha flights. He commutes monthly from India, which he’s been doing for 25 years. Talk about a super commuter and frequent flier. Wow!
Our flight was delayed because the aircraft was late coming in from Rochester and then there was a mechanical issue. But it wasn’t too bad. It only got worse when we went to the de-icing area (it had snowed earlier). Just as they finished de-icing the wings, a lady sitting a few rows behind me casually walked up to the First Class bathroom and went in. I figured she would be quick because the captain had literally just made the announcement that they were done with de-icing, and we were about to get in line for takeoff.
If you’ve ever traveled in the winter, then you know that once the aircraft is de-iced there’s only a certain amount of time it can wait before takeoff otherwise they’ll have to do it again. The woman in the bathroom didn’t seem the least bit concerned about the pilot’s warnings to remain seated. If I were a flight attendant, I would have banged on the door until she got out or returned to the gate to offload her.
When she finally came out about eight minutes later, it was obvious she was sick, so my aggression quickly turned to compassion. But the delay could have easily cost us our takeoff spot and possibly gotten the flight canceled if the flight crew timed out.
She wasn’t wearing a mask but Hassan quickly put one on along with rubber gloves to clean up, as she made multiple trips to the bathroom during the short flight.
Prior to landing, Hassan made an announcement (in the video embedded at the top) for everyone to stay seated so she could get off the plane first; she kept refusing medical treatment when Hassan asked if she wanted EMS to meet us at the gate. I was hoping she just had morning sickness and hadn’t just returned from someplace with disease breakouts.
Later that night, I came across a popular post on Reddit titled “Flying sick” so of course, I read it, and I must say the comments were worrisome. First of all, this was the caption: “Why do people insist on flying while sick? I just got off a Typhoid Mary flight with people in front, beside and behind me all coughing, sneezing and sniffing. And if you’re going to fly sick, how about wearing a mask out of courtesy?”
I totally agree about the mask and have kept face masks in my carry-on bag for over a decade. Even before the pandemic, I would wear one when I wasn’t feeling well but had to fly because of work obligations and/or pricey change fees. I wore one out of courtesy to my fellow travelers even though people would look at me like I was from Mars and give me attitude since back then, rarely anyone wore one. I only adopted the custom while traveling around Asia.
Most people in the comments section said they’ve noticed a lot of sick passengers lately and not one of them was wearing a mask. Here’s some of the popular comments:
@Fair_Attention_485: I mean no one wants to fly sick it’s awful. Sometimes you just have to though. Wearing a mask would be considerate though I agree
@TheMiddleE: If I get a cold during a work trip, you better believe I’m still flying home. I will wear a mask and practice appropriate personal hygiene.
@jockguy72: None of the sick people on my flight were wearing masks. The worst cougher wasn’t even covering his mouth with his hand.
@Anonymous: I’m on vacation somewhere and get sick what am I supposed to do?
- Mask up, go home
or - Pay extra nights for a hotel and do a last minute flight change which is going to be outrageously expensive at the last minute.
@Patient_Post3299: I get my flu and covid shots every year and travel on average 4-6 times a month. I am never without a mask on and wipe down everything and anything I may touch or has been touched. I have been sick once this year (end of September) with a nasty respiratory virus but nothing else. I may not be able to control those around me when traveling but I can do what I can to protect myself.
The one good thing to come out of the pandemic is the major U.S. airlines have now waived their change fees on most fares (except Basic Economy) so it makes it more enticing to change your ticket. However, I totally understand sometimes you have to fly sick but if you do at least be respectful and wear a mask and properly discard your dirty tissues.
Have you noticed an unusual number of sick people flying these past few weeks and were they wearing a mask?
Update: Four days after arriving in Toronto, my wife was so sick she had to go to an Urgent Care. They don’t do rapid tests but the doctor thought she had the flu. Her Christmas was spent mostly in bed and with a mask on when she was around us.
She felt better and a few days later, we flew home to California but she wore a mask to make sure she didn’t spread her germs even though she shouldn’t have been contagious any longer. We were supposed to spend two nights at home and then fly to Honolulu for New Year’s but her cough got worse and my daughter started coming down with it. So we cancelled our trip. To make matters even worse, American Airlines lost our bags and worst of all, wasted my time and that of dozens of other passengers because their app gave us wrong information. Here’s that crazy story.
I was so bummed because I’d bought the tickets for cheap back in August and was somehow able to use four, soon-to-be-expiring System Wide Upgrades on American Airlines’ seasonal 787 to score lie-flat seats. Those all went to waste but I’m so thankful that I did cancel because a couple days later, I had the chills, a fever, sore throat and a cough. I took a Covid test and within seconds it was positive. We haven’t left the house in almost a week so going to Hawaii would have been miserable for everyone, including the passengers near us. So as disappointing as it was to cancel, it was the best thing to do.
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Why don’t the crew on the airline mandate those w/symptoms MUST wear a mask Properly!!!! I started wearing a mask on flights a year before covid became an issue as I would become sick after the flights were over! And, I get bronchitis twice/year; but wearing a mask on flights & in public places during the winter has prevented me from bronchitis for 2 yrs. now. To me, it is Very wrong to be stuck inside a ‘tin can’ for hours with irresponsible sick people.