An updated count indicates there have been 44 confirmed and potential cases of COVID-19 in 2020 in which transmission “may have been associated with a flight journey,” the International Air Transport Association (IATA) says. About 1.2 billion passengers have traveled during the same period.
In a statement issued Thursday, IATA said that the count includes confirmed, probable and possible cases of the disease and that the numbers show that the risk of a passenger contracting COVID-19 is “very low.”
Dr. David Powell, IATA’s medical adviser, added, “With only 44 identified potential cases of flight-related transmission among 1.2 billion travelers, that’s one case for every 27 million travelers. We think these figures are extremely reassuring. Furthermore, the vast majority of published cases occurred before the wearing of face coverings in flight became widespread.”
IATA pointed to research by Airbus, Boeing and Embraer that described how aircraft a…
