There are very few cases of transmission, either to passengers or crews, to the point that such transmission could be considered rare. This has even been the case on some long-haul, international repatriation flights where passengers either developed symptoms while onboard or were found to be positive for COVID-19 after they left the aircraft. In all cases, through contact tracing, it is known that no one else on those flights contracted the virus.

Also, people are typically all facing forward, so seatbacks act as a natural barrier. Add mandatory mask wearing, regular and extreme disinfecting, limited and sealed food and beverage services, as well as other precautions, and an airliner is far safer than a restaurant, grocery store, hair salon and maybe most homes.

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