“The risk of contracting the virus on board appears to be in the same category as being struck by lightning,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/pr/2020-09-08-012/

IATA’s opinion does not agree with that of the Journal of Travel Medicine:
‘The absence of large numbers of published in-flight transmissions of SARS-CoV-2 is not definitive evidence of safety.’
https://academic.oup.com/jtm/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jtm/taaa178/5910636

The Aviation Industry must be receiving the full support and permission of Governments in order to operate flights at this time. The same Governments who are currently advising everyone on the ground to keep 1-2 meters apart, while implementing lockdowns and curfews, closing bars and restaurants and many other recreational activities. In the U.K. you currently cannot meet in groups of more than six people.
Yet - there are no social distancing measures onboard aircraft.
When you fly, you sit in an enclosed space -shoulder to shoulder with people you do not know and with many others within close range and are permitted to remove your mask while you eat and drink.
Why is this possible?

AIRBUS:
‘Overall, the HEPA filters eliminate more than 99.9 percent of particles from recirculated air. The result is that the mix of fresh and pre-filtered recirculated air supplied by the ECS to passengers in Airbus cabins is very clean and virus-free.’
https://www.airbus.com/aircraft/passenger-aircraft/cabin-comfort.html

Air conditioning using HEPA filtration does not stop the spread of viruses - U.K. hospitals are testament to that fact. Hospital ventilation systems are far superior to those onboard aircraft. HVAC systems are used in hospitals which incorporate HEPA filtration:
‘It is currently not possible to entirely eliminate the risk of catching COVID-19 while you are in the hospital.’
https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/coronavirus/recovery-of-surgical-services/tool-3/

‘Look after your ducts
Duct cleaning can be a long and laborious task, particularly in older hospitals where retrofitted ventilation systems can be complicated and difficult to access. But it’s an important task nonetheless – the warm, dark and damp conditions of an air handling unit make ideal conditions for mold and bacteria. Any contaminants lining the ducts before the filters can compromise the life and/or performance of the filter system. While contaminants and bacteria after the filter stages will be gradually swept into the indoor environment.’
https://airfiltration.mann-hummel.com/news/filtrationworld/clean-air-in-hospitals/

Aircraft ducting is not routinely cleaned.

This article was recently published in the ASHRAE Journal - The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. It explains the situation fully and totally contradicts the Aviation Industry’s claims about HEPA filters:
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ashrae/ashraejournal_ZERDGH/index.php?startid=2#/p/12

HEPA filters onboard aircraft are proven ineffective in removing all of the nano-particles of bacteria and viruses. In addition, they are ineffective in removing the harmful chemical particles and nano-particles from aircraft oil, hydraulic fluids, de-icing fluids or the exhaust from other aircraft.
As mentioned many times, these nano-sized particles in fumes from petroleum products called Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) and Organophosphates come straight from the aircraft engines into the air conditioning system onboard with no filtration to stop them.
Note - HEPA filters are used to recycle the air already onboard.

Here is the independent research and science proving that these harmful particles once in the air onboard aircraft- remain there:
Independent testing conducted by the University of Minnesota - using both Carbon & HEPA filters to try to remove Toluene - a common Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) found in petroleum products. Notice there is very little destruction after 90 minutes.
These are the same kind (or similar) filters which airlines and airline manufacturers are claiming will clean the air in an airplane cabin so it is as clean as in an operating theatre in a hospital:
https://www.aerotoxicteam.com/hepa-technology-tested.html

Those of us campaigning for clean air onboard aircraft do not want to see an end to Air Travel, in fact quite the opposite. Many of us who previously worked for airlines were extremely passionate about our career’s as pilots and flight attendants/cabin crew, but sadly the contaminated air onboard the aircraft made us ill - so much so, that many of us had to end our flying career’s or were forced to by removal of medical licenses. Due to the nature of the injuries involved, many are now unable to work at all.
There have also been many untimely deaths of pilots and cabin crew related to exposure to contaminated air onboard.
This should never have happened. Our working environment should have been safe - free from harmful chemicals.
What we do want is honesty, transparency, recognition of Aerotoxic Syndrome and acknowledgment of the problem.

But rather than acknowledge & address the problem and find ways to eliminate the contaminated air onboard aircraft, the Aviation Industry choose to continue denying it exists and they do so with the help and backing of the Aviation authorities/agencies/regulators and Government committees.
The methods used are similar to those employed in the past by the Asbestos and Tobacco industries. This is totally unacceptable and sadly, it is inevitable that the truth will come out eventually which will cause more harm to the industry in the long-term.

You can find information, medical advice, studies, testimonies and much more on this subject at www.aerotoxicteam.com