I’ve been doing a lot of traveling lately (as is evident based on my review trips). Along those lines, a reader asked me whether I’m wearing masks nowadays when flying. In this post I figured I’d share my current approach…
In this post:
My current approach to masking while flying
Let me start by saying that I’m happy that the mask mandate for travel has ended in most parts of the world, and I don’t judge anyone for their choice to mask or not mask (okay, I’ll admit that I’m puzzled by people who voluntarily wear cloth masks, but that’s besides the points).
Personally I do still choose to selectively wear a mask when traveling. My current system is to wear a mask during the highest risk phases of travel, and I don’t generally wear one otherwise:
- At airports, I generally wear a mask when moving around, including when going through security, as well as when I’m in crowded spaces
- On airplanes, I generally wear a mask during boarding and deplaning, or if I’m seated in economy very close to strangers
I won’t typically wear a mask if I’m seated in an airport far away from others (whether in a lounge or terminal), and I don’t wear a mask while inflight if I’m in a premium cabin with a good amount or personal space.
Currently this is my mask of choice — it’s a KN-95 that I find to be pretty comfortable and breathable.
I should also mention that I’ll absolutely adjust my approach in the future based on the overall epidemiological situation. During my travels over the past few months, I’ve noticed a huge number of sick travelers. That’s pretty normal in winter, given how many colds and viruses are seasonal. I’ll likely take a different approach in summer.
Why I take the approach that I do toward masking
My decision to largely wear a mask while flying isn’t about coronavirus as such, but rather it’s about the lessons I’ve learned from the pandemic. I think many of us have a new understanding of how people get sick, and how it can largely be prevented.
Back in the day I’d get sick several times per year, especially when taking review trips where I spend several days straight in airports and on airplanes. I thought it was more or less unavoidable. Since the start of the pandemic I’ve been sick less than ever before, and that’s something I’m grateful for.
Look, I’m a healthy and (fairly) young person, so I’m not personally scared of serious side effects for anything that I could catch (at least compared to all the other risks I take on a daily basis, like driving in South Florida). However:
- Getting sick is really inconvenient and unpleasant; this is true whether you get sick prior to a very special trip, or upon returning home
- There are people more vulnerable than me who I want to protect, including my parents, our six month old son, etc.
When I travel, I’m already putting a burden on my loved ones in terms of them taking care of our son. The last thing I want to do is then be out of commission for a week when I get home, and not be able to help.
I’ve become accustomed enough to wearing a mask that it doesn’t bother me. Heck, when I had an overnight in the EgyptAir Lounge Cairo Airport, I masked up just to feel some warmth from my breath, given that there was seemingly no heat in the airport.
Bottom line
Mask wearing tends to be a polarizing topic, with the extreme voices most commonly amplified (including those who argue masks don’t work, and those who argue everyone should be forced to wear masks, with no end in sight).
I’m someone who thinks that masks do work, and that people should be able to make their own choices, especially since high quality masks offer protection to the person wearing them. I continue to wear masks in the highest risk situations when traveling.
I mask up primarily because it’s never fun to be unwell, and wearing masks has helped me greatly in the past few years with avoiding getting sick.
I recognize that I’m definitely in the small minority here. For example, I’m writing this from a full Boeing 737, and I only saw one other person board with a mask on. Fair enough!
I mean, I disagree with you on your approach, but I'm also a libertarian at heart, so...you do you! I personally find masks present a serious drop in quality of life while they're being worn. You obviously see the risk of being sick as a drop in quality of life and while I do agree with that, I don't believe that masks are the actual solution to that.
To each their own. I'm relieved I...
I mean, I disagree with you on your approach, but I'm also a libertarian at heart, so...you do you! I personally find masks present a serious drop in quality of life while they're being worn. You obviously see the risk of being sick as a drop in quality of life and while I do agree with that, I don't believe that masks are the actual solution to that.
To each their own. I'm relieved I no longer am forced to wear a mask in public and have successfully not worn a mask in medical settings where it's still being made mandatory but I'm doing my own thing.
Do you switch your mask every 2 hours? Do you take it off, put it in your pocket?
Most people don't practice proper procedure so at best no harm but could be harmful.
At least you're honest Ben:
"I’m someone who thinks that masks do work"
I could easily question what you think, but no need. It is not as if you are saying that I know that they work.
This. Exactly this.
I think people sometimes really need to see the difference themselves to understand the usefulness of somethings. I used to live in Beijing and air quality is ... not very good to put it mildly. I remember someone filtered enough dirt out of the air to create a brick to prove the point.
If you wear a mask you can see the outside visibly darkens. Yes, you can argue that breathing in some black smog...
I think people sometimes really need to see the difference themselves to understand the usefulness of somethings. I used to live in Beijing and air quality is ... not very good to put it mildly. I remember someone filtered enough dirt out of the air to create a brick to prove the point.
If you wear a mask you can see the outside visibly darkens. Yes, you can argue that breathing in some black smog is healthier than wearing the mask. But personally I find it odd that you don't won't to filter your air. Maybe we should also go back to drinking water from the rivers instead of having treated tap water because it is obviously useless isn't it.
If your mask is "comfortable and breathable" then it does not work, not sure why people are still not understanding this.
You are right in some instances, but a blanket statement is very often wrong.
Yes, most masks that are breathable are not effective. But, there exists mask that are specially shaped with more surface area. Larger surface, more air even if they come in filtered at the same rate.
And as said in the article, masks are rated up to spec, so unless you want to argue they are also cheating the spec/the spec is wrong, ineffective, etc..
My humble opinion is that masking does not work….Eat healthy, exercise, meditate, pray…. We all get sick once in a while….. We all die one day……Enjoy life..
This does not affect my points or miles approach. I thought this was a loyalty travel blog.
This was never a loyalty travel blog.
No, it's a credit card pimping blog.
Most people don't put 500k on credit cards so you would have enough loyalty points or miles, you get new credit cards for that.
I fully respect your choice. I think there is wisdom there.
Having said that, when you have kids in school or daycare, it’s pretty much unavoidable. Enjoy it now!
Totally agree on your approach! Thanks for sharing!
Per Ben:
When I travel, I’m already putting a burden on my loved ones in terms of them taking care of our son. The last thing I want to do is then be out of commission for a week when I get home, and not be able to help.
Pretty self serving.
What about your Covid vaccine status and boosters?
Did you always get a yearly flu shot?
@ Bob -- Yes, I have had all the boosters, and I've been getting my annual flu shot for years. Not sure what you're getting at?
I was probably that one guy on the Boeing 737 wearing a mask. Like you, I'm fairly young and travel frequently. Masks work -- not just for COVID, but against other airborne viruses as well. In the past 3 years, I've caught a cold once and nothing else. High-density environments are the places I wear a mask and everywhere else I'm happy to go maskless. Don't let trolls convince you otherwise. Haters gonna hate.
I don't wear masks unless I am forced to. Some people seem to like wearing them, like wearing amulets, or rosary beads.
Rather than listen to people on these boards, read this: https://www.cochrane.org/CD006207/ARI_do-physical-measures-such-hand-washing-or-wearing-masks-stop-or-slow-down-spread-respiratory-viruses
The Bangladesh study was faulty.
I took one J&J shot, I take Vitamin B, C, D, Quercetin, Zinc, and wash my hands. I got a bad cold in early 2021, took Ivermectin, was fine in less than two days. I have...
I don't wear masks unless I am forced to. Some people seem to like wearing them, like wearing amulets, or rosary beads.
Rather than listen to people on these boards, read this: https://www.cochrane.org/CD006207/ARI_do-physical-measures-such-hand-washing-or-wearing-masks-stop-or-slow-down-spread-respiratory-viruses
The Bangladesh study was faulty.
I took one J&J shot, I take Vitamin B, C, D, Quercetin, Zinc, and wash my hands. I got a bad cold in early 2021, took Ivermectin, was fine in less than two days. I have been face to face with people through the whole three years on a daily basis and flown all over the world too.
Masks make me claustrophobic, something enclosed spaces/planes don't do to me.
So...You do you, but viral particles are way smaller than you can imagine, and if you can breathe through the mask, any virus can get through it.
Definitely the virus particles can get through, but the breathing/sneezing/coughing droplets on which they reside cannot. Honestly, if it makes someone feel better, let it be. Ivermectin for a cold? Silly IMHO.
Ivertmectin is great, if you are a horse, but humans? Not so much.
Also @Laslo Toth (above) is clearly nuts with his anti-covid regime. If he read up-to-date reports he would realise that one J&J shot will have provided almost no protection, and six months later virtually zero.
The slate of vitamins he takes is equally useless.
Would be willing to bet the house on him being a MAGA Republican too, with the attendant mental health issues.
Masks are great to wear when you’re not looking cute. Before the pandemic, that used to be their off-label purpose in East Asia. Korean celebrities would conceal their makeup-less faces by wearing masks while papped walking through airports. Now that it’s socially acceptable in the West to wear masks (although you may come off as an overvigilant weirdo and an ever shrinking minority), at least I can look rough without being seen! Win.
"many of us have a new understanding of how people get sick, and how it can largely be prevented"
And according to the Cochrane Library's review of the largest randomized controlled trials, public masking is not a way to prevent it.
"Published by Cochrane Library, the review dug into the findings of 78 randomized controlled trials to determine whether “physical interventions” — including face masks and hand-washing — lessened the spread of respiratory viruses.
When comparing the use of medical/surgical masks to wearing no masks, the review found that “wearing a mask may make little to no difference in how many people caught a flu-like illness/COVID-like illness (nine studies; 276,917 people); and probably makes little...
"Published by Cochrane Library, the review dug into the findings of 78 randomized controlled trials to determine whether “physical interventions” — including face masks and hand-washing — lessened the spread of respiratory viruses.
When comparing the use of medical/surgical masks to wearing no masks, the review found that “wearing a mask may make little to no difference in how many people caught a flu-like illness/COVID-like illness (nine studies; 276,917 people); and probably makes little or no difference in how many people have flu/COVID confirmed by a laboratory test (six studies; 13,919 people).”
Next, the review compared medical/surgical masks to N95 respirators (or P2 respirators, which are used in Europe).
It found that “wearing N95/P2 respirators probably makes little to no difference in how many people have confirmed flu (five studies; 8407 people); and may make little to no difference in how many people catch a flu-like illness (five studies; 8407 people), or respiratory illness (three studies; 7799 people).”
made an account just to say this - couldn't agree more Ben, and thank you for your work!
My approach is similar: masks on public transit both in stations and on vehicles, in airport terminals, during boarding and deplaning, and when on short haul flights. I also wear them when visiting stores and, in particular, interacting with front-line staff. If I'm at a bar or restaurant I don't bother because it makes little sense and I just accept the risk that I'm taking. Like others have said, I don't want to be sick,...
My approach is similar: masks on public transit both in stations and on vehicles, in airport terminals, during boarding and deplaning, and when on short haul flights. I also wear them when visiting stores and, in particular, interacting with front-line staff. If I'm at a bar or restaurant I don't bother because it makes little sense and I just accept the risk that I'm taking. Like others have said, I don't want to be sick, especially in the run up to or during a long awaited trip. I'm not 100% illness free, nor do I expect to be, but I definitely have had fewer respiratory illnesses over the last few years.
Some people act unsafe but don't realize it. Those are the ones that think it's safe in business class.
In other news, Hong Kong’s mask mandate is ending tomorrow (Wednesday) after >900 days, in all circumstances (outside, inside, public transport, etc)
This is exactly how I approach it too, I travel for work and someone else is taking care of family/house while I am gone so I hate to come back sick and this is one simple way to try to do my best to not get sick. I just want to avoid the worst of the germs if possible and I don't mind wearing a KN-95 mask or get claustrophobia from it like some people...
This is exactly how I approach it too, I travel for work and someone else is taking care of family/house while I am gone so I hate to come back sick and this is one simple way to try to do my best to not get sick. I just want to avoid the worst of the germs if possible and I don't mind wearing a KN-95 mask or get claustrophobia from it like some people so it's an easy decision for me. I also still use hand sanitizer and wish the airlines would still pass out the wipes to wipe surfaces down bc ew, planes.
Sure masks might be helping block other minor illnesses and cold over time but by doing so you may be weakening your immune system by not giving it a chance to practice "working" and next time your inevitably sick it could potentially be a lot worse if there's big time gap till then. My opinion is it's better to get mild illnesses/colds once in a while like how we always did pre-2020 than to keep...
Sure masks might be helping block other minor illnesses and cold over time but by doing so you may be weakening your immune system by not giving it a chance to practice "working" and next time your inevitably sick it could potentially be a lot worse if there's big time gap till then. My opinion is it's better to get mild illnesses/colds once in a while like how we always did pre-2020 than to keep suppressing any germs from keeping your immune system functioning well.
Ever since I got sick in the middle of Denali National Park, Alaska two days after my flight I've worn a mask and wiped down touch points when traveling. It's a small inconvenience in order to enjoy my trip and protect others.
You’re not alone in your approach. In addition to your measures, I mask in elevators, when deplaning when a people mover is required and on trains when seated close to others.
Prior to covid I was hunting around for some kind of mask to wear while sleeping in the dry cabin air for long-haul flights. Fast-forward to day and N95 masks do a great job at this.
Prior to covid in Japan it was rude to be in public (or - gasp - on mass transit) with even a sniffle and not wear a mask.
Culture war aside - I see benefit to wearing a mask for myself and being generally excellent to my fellow humans.
I have the same mask approach when it comes to airplanes. I always have one on during boarding and deplaning. I keep it on in crowded economy, but will take it often in spacious business class. Anecdotal as it may be, I would oftentimes catch a cold, chest infection or flu from airplanes before the selective mask wearing, and haven't since. Of course, there are those with stronger immune systems than mine who probably never got sick while traveling.
I guess it is a slow news cycle so Ben is back to discussing masking and a related cultural war. With no new info or inside advice, this blog is getting more useless every day.
Imagine spending your limited time on this earth whining about what someone writes on his own blog that nobody is forcing you to read
No one is really discussing a "related cultural war" here except you, but masking triggers some folks so it was about time someone showed up...furthermore, for many, masking isn't a culture war - it's about public health; that others made it a culture war says more about them than anything else.
If wearing a mask triggers you, then you might need professional help.
Never wore a mask in 40 years before COVID and never got sick because of flying or staying close to anyone so will continue not wearing one. Don’t want to start a discussion about mask effectiveness but have you ever seen a doctor wearing a mask when seeing patients before the pandemic. Pay attention to the detail, doctors were seeing a patient which one assume the patients were sick. Doctors never wore a mask. They...
Never wore a mask in 40 years before COVID and never got sick because of flying or staying close to anyone so will continue not wearing one. Don’t want to start a discussion about mask effectiveness but have you ever seen a doctor wearing a mask when seeing patients before the pandemic. Pay attention to the detail, doctors were seeing a patient which one assume the patients were sick. Doctors never wore a mask. They do wear a mask during surgeries mainly to avoid contamination into the patient that has an open area of their body. As for people continuing wearing cloth masks alone while driving their cars, do a little search and you will see that 9 in 10 Americans believe there is a mental crisis in this country. That explains a lot.
"Don't want to start a discussion about mask effectiveness..."
You obviously do.
No, I don’t so please don’t start. Just tell me if before Covid, your doctor had a mask on when you had an appointment with him/her. ♂️ Keep wearing yours if you feel protected.
Prior to the pandemic the physicians I saw would often use surgical masks for source control, especially in higher risk situations. My doctor would often wear a mask during flu season. My dentist and dental hygienist always masked. ERs often asked sick patients to wear masks in waiting rooms, especially during flu season. Surgeons always wore masks. Again these were surgical masks for source control. However, it was also standard protocol to wear N95s in...
Prior to the pandemic the physicians I saw would often use surgical masks for source control, especially in higher risk situations. My doctor would often wear a mask during flu season. My dentist and dental hygienist always masked. ERs often asked sick patients to wear masks in waiting rooms, especially during flu season. Surgeons always wore masks. Again these were surgical masks for source control. However, it was also standard protocol to wear N95s in higher risk situations, e.g., exposure to TB. Hospital infection control protocols required both surgical masks and N95s in a whole range of situations.
As they say, you do you!
I am sure Santastico was being honest. He doesn't want to start a discussion. He wants to state his anecdotal experience and opinion and have others just accept it without question. But who could argue with such great evidence as "do a little search" anyway?
Santastico and his/her anecdotal evidence makes them an expert on everything. Don't forget they have also flown on every airline via every city in the world. All hail Santastico and their knowledge.
On NH106 to LAX. Crew recommending that passengers wear their mask during the flight, other than when actively eating or drinking.
I plan on 6 hours of shut eye after take off and my mask will be tucked away.
Rebel
Thanks Art for sharing your sleeping plan, and also the whereabouts of your mask.
Same approach for me
Ditto! Don't want to be sick on the way to a vacation. Also, so many people are so gross, coughing and sneezing sans tissue and not washing their hands after using the potty. No thanks.
They were already doing that before covid. Now you became smatter? Or you exaggerating?
Meaning prior to Covid, I would often get a cold when flying back from a long-distance trip, esp. in the winter. As for the non hand-washing, that's just gross.
FYI JAL "requires" masks in airports and on planes.
Ben, I think many of us would really appreciate an article that outlines which airlines still have mandatory mask policies. I’m no anti-masker, but at the same time I’m not looking to have to wear one for 15 hours in a J class pod
Since when? I flew from the Phillipines to San Francisco via Tokyo last year on JAL and was never asked about a mask.
That's not a JAL requirement, it's a Japan requirement.
Headed to Japan on JAL later this week. I expect I'll be wearing masks on all transit. Not sure if it's required at tourist sites, but I think it's required at sumo.
Update from insidekyoto.com:
On March 13, Japan is going to drop their indoor masking recommendation. From that day onward, the government will no longer recommend masking indoors and on public transport. This will also apply to domestic flights.
This seems like a common sense approach. I'm following a similar policy when traveling, especially on my outbound leg. I hate getting sick in the middle of vacation and wearing a mask for outbound travel seems to have helped prevent that. It isn't even about Covid anymore. Much more the common cold, flu RSV etc. Just nicer not getting sick in middle of vacation.
Pretty much on the same boat..ehh..plane as far as masking while boarding/deplaning. Cruising while seated in economy next to family or if seated in business? No need. I usually blast the cabin air vents straight to my face/head to get filtered fresh/recycled air.
Get the popcorn ready, and cue the pro/anti mask bashing in the comments in 3…2…1
Not sure how related this is, but Hong Kong is getting rid of their mask mandate tomorrow. Is it finally time to visit? (I'd offer to welcome you, but I'm in London)