I’ve been doing a lot of traveling lately, including review trips, which can be pretty intense in terms of the amount of time spent at airports. Along those lines, a reader asked me whether I’m wearing masks nowadays when flying.
Continue reading: Wearing Masks At Airports & On Airplanes: My Approach
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Imagine still masking in late 2024... all masks were thrown out the day the mandate was lifted.
Good job. I’m an old guy married to a guy who’s had health issues so I mask up like you do while traveling including when on DC Metro and when getting a Lyft
Also when I’m grocery store and CVS
Also like to piss off maga folks 😉
I have to imagine that if people are avoiding getting sick it's best to avoid processed airline food, follow an exercise regimen, taking supplements, and a sleep schedule in the same time zone.
I'm going to say his decline in travel since Covid and starting a family is more responsible for improved health than any mask
I pretty much follow the same stance as you Ben!
If I am in a premium cabin, I won't have my mask on but who truly likes being sick??
People these days are just wild lol....
it's giving boomer core
It's amazing you made it to Feb. 2020 with such frail health.
You're not irritating any maga folks, you just look silly.
Ah thank you for your expert opinion on pathology and virology. Where did you say you studied these topics again?
If only a mask could keep your mouth shut, the world would be a much better place
If you weren't so triggered, why did you even comment. Just scroll along Karen
I wear medical grade masks when I'm flying to see my parents(they're elderly!), and wear any comfortable ones when I'm not seeing my parents but it's a long-haul flight. I often have rhinitis after long flights but masks definitely help prevent it.
Thanks for sharing, Ben - this is pretty much exactly my approach to masking as well.
Each to their own, I personally couldn’t wait to dump the dam things but I understand those who continue too.
Masks don't stop the spread of viruses. This was well-known before 2020; the moral panic of covid seems to have resulted in a suspension of science (in favor of The Science™).
I immediately lose respect for anyone I see wearing a mask in 2024. They're either too dumb to realize the pointlessness of what they're doing, or too proud to admit they got the pandemic era wrong.
It doesn't surprise me that Lucky is a forever masker, somehow.
I have a good immune system so being in crowded places for a bit doesn’t worry me but I don’t see any value in judging someone wearing a mask. Some people do need to judge in order to somehow make themselves feel better, which is pretty pathetic when you think about it but that’s just how they’re wired.
I pretty much follow the same routine as Ben.
After getting a bad cold on a once in a lifetime trip to Alaska and missing out, I've been more careful, and that was before Covid. To me wearing a mask is a minor inconvenience to improve my chances of staying healthy and enjoying life. My ego is strong enough to not care what other people think.
And, yes, I'm the guy you see wiping the armrest and touch points.
Wow, the level of ignorance here not to mention the attitude is astounding. I don't respect people who ignore science and harshly judge others who do.
Wow, the level of ignorance here not to mention the attitude is astounding. I don't respect people who ignore science and harshly judge others who do.
Smart approach, Ben. After I got COVID for the second time, I sort of gave up on masking. Working in the transportation industry, the mandate was the biggest hassle I’ve ever experienced in terms of passenger issues and I know many others feel the same. May it never have a reason to return.
Science tells us that viral particles are up to 100 times smaller than the pores in masks, and that masks did nothing to stop the spread of covid-19 around the world. Please don't confuse your proto-religious dogma with peer-reviewed research.
I'm pretty similar with my mask approach, Ben. I'm more likely to leave the thing on for my airport time unless I have a long period of private time. But I don't want to pull the mask on and off every five minutes as I go from crowded train to empty terminal to crowded lounge and so forth.
On the plane if I am fortunate enough to be in the front, I feel less of a need to wear one but if I hear someone in my vicinity hacking up a lung, I'll wear the mask. I suppose I will also consider wearing it during meal time once I've finished my own meal.
Of course, in full disclosure, I got Covid on my most recent overseas trip. Since it manifested like two-three days after I arrived, there is just about a 100% chance I got it from somewhere during my travel day. Just goes to show that masking is not 100% effective... but it also doesn't mean I'm going to throw caution to the wind.
I can't believe people like you are real in 2024. Do you plan to do this for the rest of your life? How did you manage to survive before 2020?
I can't believe people like you are real in 2024.
Take a look in the mirror. You resemble that remark to a 't'.
I wore a mask home from Cancun after catching the flu during my trip. I don't think I picked it up from the outbound travel, I'm thinking it was either one of the cabs we took during the trip or the room AC. Wasn't a serious case, but didn't want to get anyone else sick on the plane either.
I'll likely wear one on my upcoming international flight as well to be safe, last thing I want is to be down with flu or covid the whole time I'm in Italy. Getting LASIK at least has made wearing a mask far more comfortable, since wearing one with glasses would cause them to fog.
Sickness aside, I’ve been wearing a mask on planes since well before COVID because it helps a lot with dry airplane air. Not getting sick is an extra bonus.
But I think you ARE ignoring science. Elad's post is accurate. I've been a surgeon for 23 years, and there is absolutely no science backing masks as deterring spread of viral particles. An N95, perfectly fitted and never removed, is a different story, but good luck with that kind of ruthless adherence.
Funny, I’ve never voluntarily worn a mask and haven’t had the flu in almost a decade.
@dynastidivision You are a horrible surgeon if you do not understand the point of a mask. Why do you think you are wearing mask during surgery? It is so vectors from your mouth do not spread. Even a typical surgical mask stops most of the elements that comes out of your mouth when talking or sneezing, so it does not in fact theme area of surgery. Is it perfect? No, but it is adequate for general hygiene.
The same works other way, adequate is the word!
Now when I think about it, do you do surgery without mask? I doubt you are even a surgeon
I wonder how many patients dynastidivision has killed. Assuming he really is a surgeon.
No, Elad's post is not accurate. "There is absolutely no science backing masks as deterring spread of viral particles" -This is just a false statement. It doesn't mean that there aren't degrees of protection depending on type of mask and fit. Of course there are. And it doesn't mean that mask mandates are effective (population level study-you might be thinking of the Cochrane Review) - there's evidence that they weren't. But on an individual level, there absolutely IS evidence that a properly worn and proper material mask can help.
What sucks is when people make absolute statements about science, but what they really mean is, "you people are sheep, I know better".
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2014564118
https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/prevention/masks.html
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-mask/art-20485449
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/face-mask-effectiveness-what-science-knows-now-60-minutes/
Being anti-mask in the comments section of a *travel* blog is hilarious. Nothing says “I don’t travel” like hating on other people’s choices. Do you go to countries where mask-wearing has been normal since before the pandemic and complain about those people? What a weird, ethnocentric take to have an issue with people wearing masks on planes.
I used to get sick during, or after every trip. Since wearing masks on flights, I haven't gotten sick once.
Wearing a mask does reduce your exposure to the sneeze and cough droplets. For those that cannot understand, maybe you don't understand how umbrellas work.
One thing COVID did was give hypochondriacs license to be publicly demonstrative.
I couldn’t care less, but I guess it makes them feel better.
As soon as I saw the title, I knew the comments section would blow up.
@Ben, one suggestion for the comments (in general, and not just this post). Can you make the replies clearer? Unless someone adds an @, There's no way to tell who's responding to which comment, so the long reply threads can get confusing.
I guess you think Trump is the best thing since sliced bread and the earth is flat. I imagine you’ll never visit Asia then ( and hopefully not ).
I haven't worn masks regularly in a while. But there have been recent situations (i.e. when I've been sitting across the aisle from one entire family that was coughing and and wheezing, without covering their nose/mouth, the entire flight) where I wished I had a spare mask on me. Since then I carry masks in my travel briefcase just in case.
Mask wearing has been quasi-normal in Asia, but has never existed in anywhere near the proportion it does now. At this point, it's very clear a moral panic/social contagion. If you can't see this, you're either a fool or a villain.
The idea that large numbers of people have always masked in Asia is laughable.
I have thousands of pictures from the Far East and Southeast Asia pre-2020, and struggle to find anyone wearing a mask in any of them. You are the one who is dishonest if you believe that the current level of mask wearing in Asia has any historical precedent or indeed, any sociocultural origin.
The reality is that East Asia governments oversold their populations on both the severity of covid and the efficacy of masks; due to their infamous obedience, they complied en masse. Many haven't let go, and some never will (like Lucky).
Sad!
Why are all the extremisr Zionists also against mask wearing. Why such hatred towards science and humanity?
Umm, I fail to see the connection. Guess you simply can't resist the opportunity to spew some hatred. This had nothing to do with one's views on Israel.
Well, I have actually been there pre Covid and have seem many people wearing masks, not a majority, but a fair number.
Yes, call me an idiot for accidentally typing seem instead of seen. You know you want to.
Wearing a mask vs. a virus is like wearing a mask to prevent smelling when someone is smoking or farting in the room - it’s just not working!
That’s evidence based over decades but if you feel better wearing a standard mask to protect yourself of a virus why not doing it besides the evidence based studies showing wearing a mask over hours is worse for your health than going without a mask…
Just a comment of a physician with 25 years of experience
Wow, Ben, your approach is pretty much the same as mine, right down to the black KN95 in the blue/white box sold on Amazon! I'll remove the mask for occasional flights of pre-flight champagne in Business, of course.
Husband and I did a 4-month RTW trip early this year. He doesn't mask in airports and I did. Somewhere between Changi Airport and Bavaria, he contracted covid and I didn't. He got a nastier bug earlier, between Australia and Malaysia, which I also didn't get. So I'm feeling pretty good about my masking approach.
Thank you so much.
I look very healthy, but I've had part of my left lung removed and I have an autoimmune disease. I appreciate people who are considerate of people like me. (And I've not had covid yet, knock wood.)
I am continually amazed at the lies people tell (and believe) about this.
So the air you’re breathing through your mask is more humid? Interesting point - what kind of special mask you’re wearing?
Oh, very interesting!
How did Covid spread during times when wearing a mask was mandatory?
Hi Wolf, there are other ways to contract covid, like touching your face, rubbing your eyes, people not wearing their mask property or a mask that doesn't filter sufficiently or leaks, like a bandana. If you ask your family physician about the occurrence of colds and the flu while America had a large percentage of their population masking, I bet you will hear that case counts went down. Why do you think that there is an effort to have people cough into their elbow and sleeve instead of your hand. If you cough in your hand you are likely to rub your face, eyes or nose.... The average person touches there face 23 times per hour. Anyway.....
I’ve also heard it likened to using a chain-link fence to keep out mosquitoes.
The problem is that these people will be the ones crying out for mandates and lockdowns the next time the media declares that a “pandemic” has started. They’re just fools now, but they could be dangerous in the future.
Hey Wolf, how do you account for airborne droplets from a sneeze? I would think almost any well-fitting mask would stop them. Also why do they wear masks in a surgical setting often times for many hours during long procedures?
I guess you never took a train in Japan.... I was there before COVID and saw lots of people wearing masks.
I'm not anti-mask, but choose not to wear one in this environment. But, you really need to work on your umbrella analogy. It's awful.
'Extremist Zionist' is code now for psychopathic nutjobs. I knew this would come, deservedly so. There are no 'good' Zionists but lots of wonderful Jewish people.
Since the pandemic is over, masking has been mostly optional and I appreciate that. The one odd thing to me is all the comments saying that masking regularly prevents that individual from illness. I travel 4-5 months of the year, frequently on small group tours, and very rarely catch anything. I also rarely, to almost never, wear a mask. The couple times I have had systems, they’re mild and only are for a very short period of time (that was a couple years ago).
FWIW, I also keep up on all my vaccinations.
Cloth masks are the only ones that fit my head comfortably, so there is a world of folks like me out there. I wear one to protect myself and a family member with cancer. I also wipe screens, trays, and other touch points. And I have never caught Covid in the last four+ years.
I was on the subway the other day and sometimes in the car starting making a very COVID sounding cough. Over and over again.
I changed cars.
On the plane I keep one on hand in case I am seated near a selfish person who is traveling while knowingly sick.
Fauci lied. NIH lied. CDC lied. Biden & Harris lied.
Masks. Stay 6 feet apart. Take the vaccine and you won't get COVID.
There was no 'science' because it was all a scam, and they knew it.
And still, the obedient sheep bow down before the leviathan of disinformation (federal government). It's so Orwellian, it's absolutely chilling.
Shame, shame, shame. We the People will not get down on bended knee to cater to your mental delusion. No more.
You get LESS SICK when you wear a mask!?!?! Who could've ever forking imagined!
I'm far less vigilant than you, but to be honest haven't noticed a difference in the amount of time I'm sick abroad or at home.
Cheers!
@Elad... way to dodge the question.
Now that the pandemic is over, there is virtually no lording mask morality over others. Maybe that's because we felt masks were more important before vaccines were widely available and before we knew exactly how the virus would play out.
Kind of like being more interested in the science than in feelings.
I've been wearing a mask when in the plane for over 20 years. Especially on long haul flights. Hardly get sick. Wearing a mask when in the plane also helps reduce problems from breathing the dry air
Please. To what extent do you think anyone wearing a mask is interested in gaining your respect?
Bizarre statement about Lucky... you mean the fact that he's a wildly successful travel blogger, father, husband, and someone people would actually look for respect from.... is that what makes it so you're "not surprised" he often wears a mask?
The one time we could use a full essay with quotes, bolded/italicized remarks, and nauseating academia to put anti-masking little children firmly in their place, and all you have is one sentence.
I had higher hopes from you!
My approach is pretty similar common sense: KN95 during boarding and deplaning, at gate when it's crowded, etc., and not necessarily during the entire flight or in sparsely occupied terminal areas. That and a moment to aim the aircraft's filtered air supply amounts to easy, meaningful risk mitigation for a fully vaccinated traveler, and for any fellow passengers who are immune-suppressed. Not judging anyone else's decisions, btw.
It’s a ginormous conspiracy by politicians, most subject expert scientists and clinicians, the pharmaceutical industry, the UN and evil doers. Thank goodness for enlightened people like yourself to educate us!!!
I have no problem with masking but I wish they could place them over their nose versus under ! Or not under their chins !
Oh, absolutely. I saw that Chain Link Fence meme on Facebook. But like most things on Facebook, I don't rely on it as a source of actual information.
@Elad, you are wrong on so many levels it's hard to know where to start.
As for anyone 'losing your respect'? Like, who gives a flying f**k what you think.
Just get on with your sad little life and leave the grownups to get on with theirs.
I really do not think this post was needed. Like wearing a mask just tells people who you are voting for. Which is sad but literally the first thing that comes to mind.
Great to see you taking a sensible approach to the masking issue.
It is also a timely reminder that masking is not only a protection against catching Covid, but a host of other air-borne viruses as well.
A bad cold or flu can be more debilitating and unpleasant than Covid (if you haven't kept up your vaccinations). An annual flu shot is also a great idea, especially for frequent travellers.
Yes, I have had all the age-approprtiate Covid shots, and have a flu shot before winter ever year.
For decades I've had what I refer to as my airplane allergy - around the 4 hr mark of flights I'd get the same allergy symptoms as I get around cats or during pollen season with itchy eyes, runny nose, scratchy throat, etc. It would clear up about 30 min to an hour after I got off the plane. When I started wearing masks on long flights I learned that this airplane allergy completely went away. I wish I had known this decades ago as I would happily have started masking then. All the years I spent trying to come up with medications with my allergist were a waste of time and money if a simple mask was all it took to solve it.
I will forever mask on long flights, only taking it off to eat and drink, because it makes me so much less miserable. The added bonus of not coming home sick from every trip has been very nice as well.
Must be sheer dumb luck that you weren't in that first million US citizens who died of covid with your rotten attitude.
I pick these up every time I’m in Japan: https://www.kobayashi.co.jp/seihin/nn_o4/
As a long-time reader who can no longer easily travel because I now have Long Covid, I appreciate you writing about this. I think this is a pretty sensible approach. Trust me, you don't want Long Covid!
I'm mask on when taking public transportation or in airplanes/airports. I also wear a mask at Costco because the one I shop at (Richmond BC) is always super crowded. And I get sick less.
It's kind of bizarre how we took a complete 180 from the pandemic and it's now worse than it was before - people are expected to work in offices now, expected to work while sick, and fired if they aren't. Fortunately I still get to choose where I work, and how I protect myself, and being sick is a drag. I'm with Ben - do what you can to avoid this.
Absolute rubbish. Its a fact that the 2004-6 Bird Flu epidemic encouraged the majority of China and many of the Central Asian countries populations to wear masks .. and they did. So, its obvious that you weren't travelling around major Asian capitals during that time. Your statement regarding "looking at pictures" almost made me fall off my seat with laughter - rarely do you see pics from travel companies showing people earing masks ... 'cos it becomes a psychological disincentive to travel. In the REAL world, this happened .. and long before your COVID-denying attitude.
It's his partner whose health is frail, so add reading comprehension to your list of issues
My immune system is weaker than most and I used to get sick (cold, flu, etc.) fairly often after flying. I have the same policy as Ben (mask in crowded economy or during boarding in business), but never in aiports. I haven't caught anything while flying in years since doing this, so I will continue to do so. What's comical is how upsetting it is to others. I was flying Club Europe with BA recently and a guy from Texas on the other side of the blocked off seat between us was furious with me and demanded to know why I had a mask on while everyone boarding was walking by. FFS, people should be able to do what they want with their own bodies without being harassed.
So not true as half the country is not wearing. Of course, we can figure out the 1 or 2% that do mask which way they will vote.
if you're that afraid of breathing air, just stay home and make more room for the rest of us.
The right showed us that they completely reject any attempts to mitigate deadly diseases (regardless of how much we know about the disease)... in any way except maybe walking to the gym in the sun.
Can't ask for a little more space between people, can't ask for a face covering, can't ask for a vaccine to fight the disease--- it's all just a political ploy to them. The disease in their mind isn't a literal disease, it's the people who want to take measures to eliminate the disease.
So really, when the next deadly disease comes around...which people are actually dangerous, here?
Masks saved millions of lives during the pandemic. In fact, there’s an argument that if everyone on the planet had just worn a damn mask for two weeks, the entire pandemic could’ve been avoided.
I’d go further, actually, and assert that if we could all commit to wearing a mask every time we left our homes (or better, even in our homes), no human being would ever get covid, the flu or a cold again.
Who is with me?
Absolutely nobody is with you. Pro-mask or not, that's just not how it works.
Consider that guidance was not initially N95, meaning simply "wearing masks" wasn't going to cut it. Consider also the virus only needed one or two people to start to become a worldwide pandemic. Too many impractacalities to expect that we would all be able to wear masks to absolute perfection for two weeks and completely eliminate it.
The best we could do was mitigate the damage... masks until vaccines, then vaccines.
Less is more. Plus it’s awesome to see a comment regarding something that he’s professionally trained to make.
As a surgeon, you’re telling me that my 12-hour days in masks are bad for my health?
Yeah the epidemic of lung diseases in operating room personnel is just another hidden secret of big mask. All those non-existent studies …
@elfin.bohrium this post was needed. More people need to hear important advice like is in the article. My wife is immuno-compromised. I can't afford to bring respiratory disease home. When she travels she wears a mask 100% of the time in the airport and on the plane. I wear mine pretty much the same for her.
When traveling recently for business, I was berated for wearing a mask, so vociferously that the guy's spit hit my face. We know who he was voting for as he screamed at me that his buddy Trump was going to ban masks throughout the country and would stop people like me and other foreigners from entering the country if they wore masks on their flights. I was born in the U.S. and served for many years as a Public Health Engineer for the government, to keep the public safe.
I couldn't care less what these nuts think, but their behavior is outrageous. Fortunately the FA intervened and moved me to first class. I'll bet that chaffed his britches. I thought he should be arrested frankly. He was out of control and threatening.
Your statement that wearing a mask just tells people who you're voting for shows your ignorance, prejudice and bias. Frankly, you should be ashamed of yourself. What a mask on a traveler's face says, is that they are concerned about their health and their families health and shows solid commonsense as we head into the peak of the winter COVID and Flu seasons. More than 10,000 people had COVID in the last reported week (end of September). Flu cases are poised to take off as normal in late fall and winter.
Actually, Doc, you're wrong and that's surprising. N95 & KN95 surely can't stop a virus per se because they're too small, but the masks don't have to stop the virus itself. They have to stop what's carrying the virus around like respiratory droplets and particles which are contaminated with the virus, which they do substantially stop if the mask is well fitted. N95 is clearly better than KN95 because they stay on tighter and generally fit better. Even if not quite fitted exactly, they'll still make a heck of a dent. And, the extensive tests on transmission prove my point. My friend at the Mayo Clinic states that proper use, storage and cleaning of masks affects how well they protect you, but they do work and are well worth wearing in many real world situations. He wears them in planes and airports himself.
Oh, the the nonsense about wearing them over hours is worse for your health than not wearing them in a situation where infected people are in close proximity is fiction. Perhaps Doc, you need to return to medical school.
Thanks for highlighting. I always wear a mask in crowded places, airports, planes, grocery stores. 400 million people worldwide are crippled with long-covid… worse than cancer, HIV, etc. Which also makes those 400 million immune compromised. Easier to make a small effort, then become crippled with a severe disabling disease.
Why do you spread hate? NYT reports 400 million people have crippling long COVID. My wife one of them, who essentially lost her life. She is alive, but not living.
I still wear a mask when traveling and in crowded situations where I cannot control personal space such as busy airports, the security process, boarding, and on the plane, when taking a bus, etc. The two times I didn't, I got Covid from others. Some people might have a serious commitment at the end of their travel (for me scheduled surgery) and can't afford to even catch a cold. There are always those that are immunocompromised and need whatever protection they can for their health. I feel that wearing a mask is more accepted these days.
I did not know I had Covid until I got home. I just thought I had the sniffles. I feel bad to know that the 8 hour flight from Europe might have given those around me Covid. From now on I will mask up not just for me but for those around me.