- A new CDC report released on Wednesday suggests that the middle seat blockage reduces the spread of COVID-19 on aircraft.
- Airlines for America and analysts are pushing back, saying the report does not consider new security measures.
- The CDC also gave vaccinated individuals the green light to travel within the US earlier this month.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention has just rekindled the debate over whether airlines should block middle seats just as airlines thought it was done.
A newly published study found that maskless flyers can spread COVID-19 at a higher rate if middle seats are not blocked, as Hilary Brueck of Insider reports. Flyers at the opposite ends of a row of three seats with the center open reduce their exposure by 57%, the study said.
Several airlines, including American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Air and Southwest Airlines, have delayed the trade organization Airlines for America over the issue when reached out for comment by Insider.
“Several scientific studies confirm that the low protection significantly reduces the risk, and research still shows that the risk of transmission on board aircraft is very low,” an Airlines for America spokesman told Insider. This indicates that no changes to airlines will be recommended.
The trade organization also pointed to the DOD and Harvard studies, as well as data from the International Air Transport Association showing low transmission rates among passengers since the start of the pandemic.
“Since the beginning of 2020, there have been 44 confirmed or possible cases of COVID-19 associated with a flight,” IATA found. “During the same period, about 1.2 billion passengers traveled.”
Read more: Airline workers have COVID-19 lower than the general population – and airline executives say this is proof that flying is safe
The airline industry was divided early in the pandemic between those who blocked seats and those who did not. However, more airlines have begun to abandon the policy, after studies by the U.S. Department of Defense and the Harvard School of Public Health declared the air travel largely safe, regardless of the seats.
Delta Air Lines is the only major U.S. airline currently blocking middle seats, but will close on May 1st.
Sun Country Airlines, which currently does not block middle seats, told Insider: “We do not currently have plans to change our existing seat policies.”
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, we worked closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, local government and our peers to ensure that we maintain the best health and safety measures,” said spokeswoman Erin Blanton.
Allegiant Air referred Insider to the National Air Carriers Association, which did not respond to a request for comment, while Alaska Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines also did not respond.
Industry analyst and co-founder of Atmosphere Research Group, Henry Harteveldt, told Insider that it is unlikely to change the rate of airlines deciding to fill aircraft.
“The airlines will look at it and go, ‘Oh, that’s nice. Pull together,'” Harteveldt said.
Airlines are now driving high after a long year of losses and some are starting to show positive cash flow. Harteveldt says airlines are unlikely to return to the middle seat block unless ordered by the federal government.
“All the signs point to a very good summer travel season, at least as far as demand is concerned,” Harteveldt said, adding that this announcement is unlikely to jeopardize the profits that airlines make because people seem eager to to travel.
The researchers also conducted the study in 2017 with mannequins that, for example, do not wear masks while wearing a mask on an airplane, are now required by federal law, Harteveldt said. The COVID-19 vaccine is also in high gear, and nearly 40% of the American public has received at least one dose, which according to Harteveldt was not taken into account in the findings.
The CDC also said in early April that travel within the U.S. is safe for vaccinated individuals who still follow precautions such as wearing a mask and washing hands with soap.
More than one million travelers have flown in the U.S. every day since March 11, according to data from the Transportation Security Administration. However, if flyers are skeptical about travel, many airlines have made it easier to change and cancel bookings for this reason.