Talking about airplanes in general, it might not be ideal for a passenger to turn off their air-vent during the flight. Why you may wonder! Apparently the next time you are flying with an airline and think of turning off your air vent you should reconsider the same.
It is understood that you might be afraid of falling sick or are feeling too cold, but using that tiny vent can help with a lot of issues. Issues specifically related to health and catching infectious diseases.
The main reason – avoiding microbes/microorganisms
Yes, you read that right. One of the reasons why you may want to turn on your air vent in your flight is to avoid getting in contact with certain microorganisms. These microorganisms can make you sick without a doubt. If you find it hard to believe that not using an air vent could make you fall sick, here is how we can claim this is what it is. According to Lahey Medical Center-Peabody’s MD and Vice Chairperson of emergency medicine Dr. Mark Gendreau, it is essential that people know about this common fallacy. Being an expert of communicable and infectious diseases, especially the ones associated with air travel, Dr. Mark was able to explain how travelers should safeguard themselves from catching diseases and how using air-vent on a flight is one of the ways to do it. He completely dismissed the myth that one should not use the air vent as this can make them even more sick. The claims, he said, were baseless.
The reason why this knowledge is being spread now and is emphasized now after years of airplanes being in service, the doctor told us this was one misconception that has not been debunked yet.
People their doubts about how the airplane vents work and are they really clean or so.
How Air Vents Work
Aircraft Air Conditioning Unit work in a simple systematized manner. Each air vent gets air from distribution channels flowing throughout the cabin. The air from different channels is combined with the outside air through a high-efficiency particulate air. This ‘Air’ makes sure the dust and dirt is pushed away so the microbes can stay at bay. You would be surprised to know that these HEPA vents were originally used to filter out smoke from the air when smoking was allowed on the planes. It is a good fact to know that apparently HEPA vents can clear out more than 90 percent of microbes, etc.
To keep airborne microbes at bay, it is important that proper ventilation is facilitated to keep a proper flow in the cabin air. One needs to understand that air vents are there for a reason and using them is useful for your health.