As coronavirus continues to spread, which is the safest seat on a plane?
As coronavirus continues to spread, which is the safest seat on a plane?
As coronavirus continues to spread, which is the safest seat on a plane?
As coronavirus continues to spread, which is the safest seat on a plane?

Coronavirus: how to choose the safest seat on a plane


Hayley Skirka
  • English
  • Arabic

If you're flying during the coronavirus crisis, you might want to pre-book a window seat.

Researchers say that sitting in a window seat on an aircraft is the safest choice to avoid coming into contact with infected passengers.

Staying in your seat and reducing how often you move around could also reduce your chances of infection.

Book a window seat

The best way to reduce your chance of infection when your travel is to sit at the window.

Once you have your window seat, you should stay put. Visiting the bathroom, taking items from your overhead luggage and walking around the cabin could further increase your risk of infection say scientists from Atlanta's Emory University.

In the 2018 study, university researchers observed how crew and passengers moved around aircraft cabins and how those movements affected the number of contact they had with other travellers.

They found that staying in your seat reduces the chances of coming into contact with the virus.

Reducing the number of times you get out of your seat could reduce your risk of transmitting coronavirus say scientists.
Reducing the number of times you get out of your seat could reduce your risk of transmitting coronavirus say scientists.

It also discovered that people leaving their seat the most were typically those seated in aisle seats. These travellers consequently had a higher average number of contact with other passengers than those sitting by the window.

People sitting at the window were the least likely to get up during a flight.

The study also said that the risk of direct transmission to passengers on flights is low, so long as travellers are "not seated in close proximity to an infectious passenger".

The three-row rule

According to the World Health Organisation, contact with an infected person on an plane is defined as being seated within two rows of one another.

However, researchers at The New England Journal of Medicine found that a three-row rule was more accurate.

The safest places to sit on a plane to avoid direct contact with a person infected by coronavirus.
The safest places to sit on a plane to avoid direct contact with a person infected by coronavirus.

In its 2003 study, conducted after the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak, researchers found that transmission was related to the physical proximity to an infected person. They recorded illness in travellers seated within three rows of fellow passengers with the Sars infection. Almost one third of travellers sat within three rows of an infected person contracted the disease.

The New England Journal of Medicine also stated that infection on a flight could also spread via "airborne, small-particle, or other remote transmission."

Scientists are still unclear on the how the Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted so cannot be sure what impact it will have on those  flying. 
Airport lock-down
With the new coronavirus having spread from China to at least 16 other countries, several airlines and airports around the world have introduced new measures to try to control its spread.

Most airports are now screening passengers for symptoms of coronavirus. Several airlines have also suspended flights to and from China until as late as March. Regional airlines Etihad and Emirates are operating normally, but Emirates said it was providing masks and hand sanitisers to all crew on flights to China. 
















For more information, follow live updates on the coronavirus here

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Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
  • Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
  • Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
  • Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
  • Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
  • Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
  • Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
  • Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
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Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

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Profile of Udrive

Date started: March 2016

Founder: Hasib Khan

Based: Dubai

Employees: 40

Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

While you're here
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Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 582bhp

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Price: Dh649,000

On sale: now  

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

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Watch live

The National will broadcast live from the IMF on Friday October 13 at 7pm UAE time (3pm GMT) as our Editor-in-Chief Mina Al-Oraibi moderates a panel on how technology can help growth in MENA.

You can find out more here