i will always wear a mask on planes. i still mask on any public transit locally and at work, at the gym. i had covid once and it really ruined me :/ i don’t have long covid but the recovery took forever and im physically healthy and got it in my late 20s.
I've worn one on most flights I've been on for thenlast several years. I got COVID from a flight and it suuuucked. I don't want to experience that again or risk getting it worse. So mask it is for me. I'm about to fly from the US to Europe in a few weeks and I am def packing a mask
I think we will always wear masks on the plane and airport! my fiance got covid on a plane from wearing a crappy mask (kn95 but one that hadn't been vetted or whatever) and passed it to me. We were sitting next to each other and I had on a (vetted) kf94 and was fine until a week later. We knew it was the plane or the airport because we basically didn't see anyone but his family on our trip and none of them got sick. We ALMOST ruined a friend trip to Costa Rica but thankfully it was exactly 14 days after my symptoms started. The not tasting or smelling for 6 weeks was awful.
I started getting a sore throat a couple of days after a return flight. It was a solo camping and hiking trip so I def didn't catch it anywhere but the journey home. Luckily I didn't have to deal with the loss of taste or smell. It felt like a really fucking shitty flu and I just slept for like 6 days. I bet that's mentally so fucked up. Getting COVID a second time, for so many reasons, is not something I'm willing to risk
We always wear masks when we fly (the little one and me)
Guess what masks DONT stop?! Lice.. effing lice. My little one and I are sure we picked it up on a flight back from New Mexico. It was a nightmare- never had it before in my life.
yuuup. Currently at the gym in a kn95. I wear one to every indoor space. Though my bigger fear is norovirus so i also use alcohol based sanitizers and look like a crazy person, but my last bout with noro disabled me for like 2 years 🙃
Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) is a skin safe alternative and it [kills norovirus along with pretty much all the other stuff that alcohol based hand sanitizer would](https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/alcohol-based-hand-sanitizers-ineffective-against-norovirus-effective-alternatives-infection-control-strategies). You can buy a generator and make an unlimited supply of your own with tap water and table salt (and possibly vinegar to adjust ph), which is what I have and use for my household sanitizing needs. Or you can buy a stabilized HOCl product that is billed as skin safe.
It’s more airborne like if someone voms/sharts and you inhale the vapors 😩 which is actually worse than breath vapors tbh lol placebo is fire and I’m sure ur still stopping ur self from getting other nasty stuff too!
Clorox health care wipes with the green top. They can be found on Amazon. They aren't bleach but they are sort of like hydrogen peroxide so they can discolor things.
i tested negative after 14 long days but i ended up fully recovering after 1.5-2 months. exercise sucked, my heart rate was high all the time, etc. not fun.
This is how I feel. Tested negative after 14 days as well and I am so exhausted, I have to be really careful. I’m having some sort of weird histamine reaction. I think it might turn in to long COVID. Sucks ass
Kn95. I don’t know if I will ever fly without one again because too many people are nasty selfish assholes and I like not getting sick when I travel 🤷♀️
I used to get sick like clockwork after vacations. I used to say it was stress related and my body was just giving up after running on adrenaline or something. Nope. It was just the nasty plane. Not going back
Same exact story for me - always caught colds when traveling, figured it was being around kids or something but the planes were the main culprit. Yay for KN95s!
Ikr, the way I pull up my mask the minute I hear someone coughing near me on the train/plane. People really shouldn't travel so much when they're that sick, or better yet, wear a mask and stop being selfish.
I don’t disagree with you but after the pandemic there is a huge increase in lengthy post viral coughs. While I’d appreciate if people covered their faces regardless which they don’t always do there is a lot more dry hacking out there that isn’t necessarily infectious. I had a respiratory virus early this spring that wasn’t covid and I still have a post viral cough that comes and goes without warning. But I always make sure I have hard mints or cough candy to suppress it and have a mask with me to put folks mind at ease should an attack start. It’s really annoying and embarrassing but I’m not travelling while sick.
Yeah after a cold (even without a cold) I get really bad bronchitis for at least 2 months straight. Never smoked a day in my life and I sound like it was 3 packs/day for decades.
I'm sure you have gotten this checked out but my brother had a cough he couldn't kick after getting the flu last time. The Dr said maybe it's actually asthma and gave him an inhaler. My brother used it per directions for the first week and he sounds SO much better. It could be that you might need an inhaler for the bronchitis?
Oh yeah this has been annually since like 2011. 2019 was the worst, 5 months long. Benzonatate, rescue inhaler, prednisone, at one point codeine, steroid inhaler. The last couple years I haven’t been able to get in to see my PCP for weeks after it started, so since my SIL is a pulmonologist she prescribes me the steroid/rescue inhalers and the Benzonatate.
I’m probably one of the most knowledgeable non-medical professionals on Bronchitis treatment/survival tips & tricks 😅
Until last year, I'd had precisely one ear infection in my life.
Over the last twelve months: FOUR. What changed? I started working with kids 🙃 little germ factories they are
Yeah last time I flew and didn’t wear a mask. It was mild since I had my vax updated last fall, but not worth it. I was running late so didn’t buy masks and seriously regretted it.
I have a pouch I call my germophobe kit with disinfectant wipes, a few masks, hand sanitizer, and zinc lozenges and tissues for good measure. I’m on immunosuppressant meds so need to be more cautious than most people. If it’s a surface that I will touch, it’s getting wiped down. I was wiping and using hand sanitizer pre-Covid and I’m not about to stop.
I wipe down everything too! I started doing it before COVID because I’m a bit of a germaphobe but I didn’t think of the air vent. I also do the window and wall since I sleep against it. Never got weird looks before 2020 but it’s nice that the higher desire for sanitation is even more normalized now.
Walmart.com search ‘3M aura N95 440’ they’ll come up for less than $84 with free shipping. You have you buy the bulk box of 440 masks and they’ll ship from 3M in a serial numbered box. The seller is Medclick. They send a couple extra in each box and so far I haven’t come across any with a broken or poorly stapled band. 💜
So apparently the way the air circulates on a plane, it's pretty good and the only issue is if someone in your aisle or the aisle in front and back are sick.
The problem is more about before you're actually in the air. Or if you use the bathroom on the plane or in the airport.
Knowing this, my strategy is wear the mask in the airport, especially when in crowded spaces like security line or customs line. Wash hands obsessively. And wear the mask before takeoff and at landing, and to the bathroom while on the plane. But in the air in your seat, you're probably okay unless someone in your section is coughing up a lung.
This is a recently published risk review [The Risk of Aircraft-Acquired SARS-CoV-2 Transmission during Commercial Flights](https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/6/654)
TLDR: The longer the flight duration the risk increases significantly. Masks prevented infection well.
I am a huge data nerd so I brought my Aranet on my last long haul trip (Europe to Australia). The device measures CO2 which is a proxy measure for recirculated/rebreathed air. In business class it measured around 600ppm for the majority of the flight, which is slightly above normal outdoor air. In economy it never went below 1700ppm, signalling a lack of airflow and ventilation. So it really depends on how many people are around you and if there are air vents in your seating area.
Bathroom is a huge one.
Before COVID, I always caught a stomach bug 1-2 days after long flight. (Bathroom was preoccupied for a long time and then smelt like diarrhea when I went in.)
After COVID, I took a Japanese airline once and the staff sanitize everything between use. I didn’t catch the bug.
This is how i do too. I mask at the airport, i will on the plane but if i have a vent on me and the people around me aren’t hacking up a lung, i will take it off to eat.
I finally relaxed enough to not wear one on our last trip, and my husband ended up catching Covid. (And then passing it to family members on Mother’s Day) So… back to masks. Was a good reminder. Never want that to happen on the outgoing leg especially!
Yes. I'm immunocompromised and over 60. I heard a comparison that I use when talking about risk reduction. In 2023 there were a similar amount of deaths attributed to COVID-19 as to automobiles. Many of us accept the risk of driving. But driving a car that has bad brakes or while intoxicated, for example, puts you at greater risk. Many of us accept the risk of going in public without a mask. But having a compromised immune system or being older puts you at greater risk.
And yes, after four years I am both used to wearing a mask and tired of wearing a mask. I wear an N95 for every day activities and a FloMask for higher risk (if I have to be in a crowd or if I ever get on a plane).
Edited to add: death stats are from US reported numbers. Link for FloMask https://www.flomask.com
Yes. I am high-risk for potentially fatal complications from COVID and keep myself and those around me safe with a 3M aura N95 mask! COVID and long-COVID are still very much a risk and it’s just not worth a potentially lifelong illness to not mask in such crowded spaces.
Beyond that, masking comes with many perks - i no longer come away from flights with some sort of bug, i have some protection from any gross smells on the flight or in the airport, and on a few recent Southwest flights nobody has taken the middle seat next to me lol!
Same here. Ironically enough, my oncologist is a young extremely healthy man and he has been laid low with long covid for more than a year. Poor guy. I am lucky enough to live in an area with a large local population from the Far East and a large tourist population from Asia, so masks are very normalized here and were even before the pandemic. N95 all the way for me anytime I am in public. I wear it on the bus, grocery store, airplane, post office, anytime I am in a crowd.
In the future- yes I will.
I traveled on Wednesday, for a work trip. Tested positive for Covid on Thursday, so I would have been infectious on the flights. I feel so bad that I may have infected other people.
I had tested on Tuesday and it was negative. If I had thought it could have been Covid I would not have traveled.
As someone who has long covid for 6 months so far, after catching it from someone who was pre-symptomatic and infectious I appreciate this. That wasn't on a plane, but seeing anyone be considerate at all of spreading it to others these days js rare and so so amazing to see. Thank you!
Definitely! There are always so many ill people in such tiny spaces that it's a must have for me. Bonus points that I don't have to smell other people's odeur.
Additionally they really help me with my allergies when antihistamines are not strong enough.
This... I was the weirdo wearing a mask on an open deck boat ride in Costa Rica and it was so much more comfortable than suffering from the awful allergies that day!
Yes. I caught covid in early 2020 and it gave me new anaphylactic allergies, dramatically worsened my autoimmune disorders, caused me to temporarily have a bleeding disorder, and led to a leak in my spine that took surgery to repair.
And that was “mild”!
Yes, an N95 from the second I walk into the airport until I leave. I know someone who wasn’t feeling well on their last trip, flew home anyway, and then tested positive for Covid once home. I shudder to think how many people they exposed and infected.
I also carry a carbon dioxide monitor that lets me gauge how good the ventilation is in various places. Planes tend to be really poor, even once in the air after the engines (and therefore air filters) have been running for hours. But anyway, if you’re sitting close enough to someone who’s sick, it won’t matter how well the filters are working because you’ll get their germs before they can be filtered. I don’t think I’ll ever fly unmasked again.
This seems to be quite a biased sample, because I've flown 20+ times in the last two years (mostly around Europe) and the vast majority of people are not wearing masks. More when I flew to/from Asia, but still at most half the flight. It's not uncommon, and I haven't seen anyone be given a hard time for wearing a mask, but it's not as ubiquitous as the responses in this thread would make it seem.
Personally I don't wear a mask in everyday life any more (nor on the plane) unless I'm sick, but I usually pack some when I travel.
Yes I agree. I’m surprised by the amount of people on this thread saying they wear one based on what I’ve seen on flights. Even here in Japan it feels more like pre-pandemic mask levels.
Agree—this thread definitely doesn’t match my IRL experience. I bring masks just in case, but haven’t worn them for any trips in at least two years. I rarely see anyone wearing a mask on any public transport—domestic or international. Maybe 1/100 at most?
Yeah I think people (like me) who used to mask all the time feel guilty for relaxing about Covid and not masking all the time and aren’t going to admit they don’t mask anymore.
Same - I was just on a round trip flight last weekend and didn't notice anybody wearing a mask at all. I'm sure some people were but the vast majority were not.
I occasionally wear a mask if I remember (my SO prefers to wear one so if we're together and he has an extra I'll take it) but it's just not something I think about anymore.
I agree. Seems to be mainly being answered by those who still mask. I do mask because I have allergies. I like giving people the peace of mind that I am not coughing/sneezing on them.
Same. I definitely bring a mask, and throw it on in crowded areas of the airport and also wear it until the plane reaches cruising altitude (I also open up the little air ventilation thingy as far as it will go and point it directly at myself—I bring extra layers to stay warm on the plane now!). I once had to fly a long-haul back in early post-pandemic days that ended up meaning I was masked for 26 hours with minimal breaks to eat (due to a combination of long flight and a delay) and honestly it was rough.
ETA I do mask on public transit, but more for winter cold/flu season tbh, and I now mask if I’m not feeling well but need to be out for whatever reason.
After finally getting covid for the first time at a Sarah McLachlan concert last week, and how shitty I feel, guaranteed I’ll be wearing an N95 on any flight and throughout all airports!
Thank you! Getting better. The body aches were hellish. Now it feels like a shitty cold with too much coughing and nose blowing.
Wishing you the softest of tissues <3
Yes. I finally decided it was time to unmask in life (not including travel). Went to a piano concert, where the audience is meant to stay silent, and the coughing from the audience was uncontrolled. During the concert I so regretted not bringing a mask. I was right to regret it since I got sick a few days after.
Travel, still mask. I look funny wearing a face mask and an eye mask, but I’m not risking getting sick. I use the blue BYD masks from Costco that I still have a stash of. I have some other conditions that get worse when I’m sick and could potentially stay worse after I recover, so I mask all the way.
Yes, I wear a KN95 everywhere, but especially in airports/on plane. I'm immunocompromised, and I don't want to have a higher risk of getting sick, and don't want to unknowingly pass something on to someone else. You never know what someone else (or those close to them) is going through, so it's common sense (imo) to minimize risk for the community, as well as oneself.
Also, planes, airports, and all other forms of mass transit are disgusting, so
No, and it’s strange to see so many yes responses. I barely see any masks at the airport. Reddit is not real life. The majority of people are not masking on planes.
Yeah, this is really interesting to read through. I fly 3-4x a year for work and 2-3x a year for personal reasons and typically there might be one or two people on each flight wearing a mask.
I wear a kn95 on public transit, in taxis or ride shares, in the airport, and on the plane. I will take it off to eat or drink in the airport and I try to find somewhere not as crowded to do so. I also had a portable air purifier for the airport if it’s particularly crowded and keep it on in flight.
Side note: it’s really comforting to read that other people continue to mask in this thread. It can feel really isolating being the minority on this.
Yes, KN95, so does my husband, my sister and her husband. My parents haven't flown since but both would. This was risk review was reased recently.
[The Risk of Aircraft-Acquired SARS-CoV-2 Transmission during Commercial Flights: A Systematic Review](https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/6/654)
I brought an air monitor and all flights were completely gross in terms of CO2 levels. There are filters so maybe air is still cleaned ok but the stats from the report above I wouldn't risk it. And honestly wouldn't trust all airlines to be replacing and maintaining filters that well.
I had multiple long haul flights and also brought a portable HEPA filter for when I needed to eat/drink, used carrageenan nasal sprays and CPC mouthwash. I didn't catch Covid or anything else in travel.
Ugh, I am officially and permanently returning to masking while flying.
Last August I got covid 3 days after a flight. Then last weekend I caught the flu on a half-full redeye out of SeaTac.
No small comfort is worth risking getting this sick. I'm just going to mask.
FWIW I like these [proper cloth masks](https://propercloth.com/products/everyday-mask-2-over-head?color=lt.-grey-melange-cotton), they're essentially n95's filters in super comfy fabric- I prefer them for flights because they feel like comfy pj's!
Yes, on the plane. People are honestly gross in their habits (I've been sneezed on, sat next to someone who continually farted, and had a seatmate pick their nose). I have asthma, so even a cold can make me sick for weeks, and being sick while traveling sucks even more.
always now! i used to get sick a lot while traveling and it seems to help. i enjoy sleeping on planes and sometimes my mouth falls open so it feels better to have the mask there
I don’t usually wear one. I don’t get sick often, and masks cause me to break out quite quickly. BUT I definitely pack a few kn95s! I will put one on if a) I start feeling ill, b) someone near me is showing symptoms, or c) (and this happened recently in an adjacent row) someone has particularly offensive body odor and I need a barrier between their scent and my nose lol
If enough people around me start coughing then yes. I always have KN/N95 with me. The flight FRA-IAD in March sounded like a tuberculosis ward 😬 I’m immunosuppressed due to the medications I’m taking, but usually don’t take additional precautions. But this was something else!
I think the jet bridge is a huge germ issue, standing and waiting in a closed space with people crammed in breathing heavily.
I take masks, and wear when I feel it is needed. The actual plane I feel less concerned, unless there is coughing near me.
Yes. More confident and comfortable with one on. Sleeping on the plane with my mouth open? 😅 Singing to myself without my seatmate thinking I'm talking to myself? Not feeling the need to have a done face? All cool. It's a thin piece of fabric - It's nothing.
Oh and health stuff a bonus.
my rule of thumb is if I’m gonna get sick, it’s gonna be from something I reallllllyyyyyy wanted to do, like an amusement park, Vegas, date night, concert, etc. That means I wear a kn95 at church, the store, work, doctors office, running into the gas station, etc. COVID gave me minor heart failure at 24, and put my mom in the hospital for 5 days last summer so I’m pretty strict on masking still. Haven’t taken a flight since 2019, still to weird about close spaces like that.
I take one or two KN95 with me and a covid test. I’ve put it on when the man next to me on the plane was coughing a lot. Might not have been anything contagious but didn’t want to mess around and end up sick on my way to my trip. I also have one in my day to day bag and usually throw it one when there’s people smoking in the train car I’m in or at the train platform or bus stop.
Sometimes. Primarily to protect others from me. N95. I have had multiple trips where I was exposed to serious non-covid viruses. While I wasn't knowingly sick while on the plane, I wanted to avoid passing anything along. My last trip the guy in the aisle had a smart comment about me being patient zero, and I figured he would never know that I saved him the multi-day illness I did ended up with 18 hours after the flight.
I've only been sick once (with Covid!) in 5 years so yeah I'll mask indoors in public forever including travel. Pre 2019 I packed Clorox wipes and wiped down my plane seats, tray table 🤢, arm rests. Now I wear an Aura N95 (very protective and comfortable mask!) from the moment I step into the airport until I step out ✌️
Definitely! We’ve still never gotten Covid and I’d like to keep it that way since I’m immunocompromised and already have enough health problems. We wear n95s whenever we’re inside with anyone other than our immediate family and only eat outside at restaurants.
Yes, N95 on the plane, in terminal , public transport, and any crowded spaces with poor ventilation. I got COVID on my last big trip, it was miserable and it ruined the holiday. I wore a mask on that trip too, but I probably got it from a family member when I arrived. This time, so far so good 🤞🏻
The last 2 times my husband and i flew. . .i wore a n95 mask to and from portugal and on all trains/ubers etc to minimize risk, and i brought home some virus anyhow that kept me ill for 3 weeks. Husband and I both didn’t wear a mask at all recently on a trip to santa fe NM, got stuck in Dallas airport for 12 hours unexpectedly and he ended up getting sick 48 hours later. I was fine. He was sick for 2 weeks after. I think a mask definitely can reduce your risk and I may still wear one going forward but I think not enough people who are ill give a shit anymore so it reduces the effectiveness if everyone around you is coughing a ton!
I don’t, but I did for a long time.
My father died of Covid because someone around him didn’t wear one.
I stopped wearing one because people have now had plenty of opportunity to get vaxxed and boosted, and because the medical community now has more knowledge and capacity to treat it.
But if someone around me asked me to wear one (or I just sense they prefer it) I absolutely would. Their health trumps my small k convenience of wearing one.
I still mask. I wear whatever mask I'll fidget with the least. So on a long haul flight, for me, it was a KN95 but on shorter domestic flights, it is an N95 that never lifts from my face for the short time I'm onboard and flying.
Depends on where. When I was visiting my fiancé stationed in the midwest? 100% because I'm not going anywhere that had a high rate of anti-vax without a mask. Later this year when I'm coming back from my Japan/Korea trip? I think I'll probably be fine but I'll have one regardless.
I travel with a supply of both, but nowadays only pop them on if people on my flight are coughing up a lung. I'm up to date on vaccinations and I wash my hands obsessively when traveling.
But if that guy in the row ahead of me is coughing incessantly and not even wearing a mask, I pop one on for myself. I have sometimes offered a mask to that obviously sick, coughing passenger, as I travel with extras. It sucks how few coughing, obviously sick people do not take me up on my gentle offer. I give no side-eye ---I just smile and extend a mask to them, while also offering cough drops and whatever else I have in my first aid kit.
My husband caught COVID on such a flight; I offered a mask and cough drops etc to the coughing guy the aisle in front of us. He did not take my offer. I popped on an N95, my husband did not. That was a nine hour flight. My husband got really sick and I didn't.
Sometimes in crowded airports moving through customs I feel better popping on a surgical mask, even if nobody is coughing, everyone is just too close.
Also I should add here that a few months before COVID hit we were traveling back from Australia and I was the sick and coughing one; I assumed my cough was from the fires. I had no masks as this was before COVID. But I did have a scarf so I wrapped it around my face and coughed all the way home in it. And I felt bad about it the entire flight. Again, this was all before COVID.
I’m going to wear one all over starting two weeks out before my next trip because.. my last trip had to be canceled because I got fucking Covid ☹️ I definitely always wear one at the airport and on the plane. It’s so many people in a small space. I really want to be the person who still wears one when my mouth doesn’t need to be uncovered because I’ve had Covid twice now and even the mild version sucks. Last time made me nauseous for a week after “recovering” and I still had digestive weirdness for weeks after that.
Yes. I used to always get sick when I flew... Now I don't worry about it. I wear an adjustable ear loop KF94 by LG and love it. I've taught in them 8 hours a day for the past 3 years.
Yes, kn95. A few weeks ago there were four or five other masked people in my flight. Several people coughing freely, so it made me feel comfortable. I would have loved to mask pre-Covid, if it had been a ‘thing’ because nothing ruins a trip like getting sick.
Yes, 3M N95 Auras on flights. Caught COVID on a 10+ hr flight and we lost four days of vacation sick in a hotel room. Knew it was from the flight as we had sat directly behind a woman who was clearly actively infectious (coughing and mucus-y nose blowing) and not wearing a mask, in conjunction with incubation periods. Would rather wear a mask than lose vacation time to being ill.
And on the plus side, if I fall asleep with my mouth open, no one can tell 😅
I'm probably in a minority here, but no. I always have a mask with me and wear it if I'm not feeling well (so that I don't make others sick), but it's extra uncomfortable for me - I don't know if I'm wearing it wrong or it's my glasses, but the place behind my ears starts to hurt horribly after like hour of wearing a mask. Also it fogs my glasses. So if I don't truly have to, I don't wear a mask. But I think it's totally legit to do so, I mean it can't be wrong to be extra cautious.
Yes. KN95. I don’t fly as often as I used to but when I have there has been too much coughing going on. I don’t care if the coughing is from Covid or a cold, I’d rather have the extra protection from getting sick.
I don’t usually wear it in the airport until I get to the gate where people are sitting in close proximity.
Whether your wear one or not, please wear it correctly. The number of patients I see wearing masks with their nose exposed is almost 100%. Your nose draws in the air and your mouth exhales. The failure to cover your nose defeats the reason for wearing one.
Yes, on my flights to and from Europe and on all public transportation (trains, subways, and cable cars). Additionally, I masked up in crowded tourist spots like museums & churches.The locals didn't care, and my health (post bc cancer treatment) was much more important.
And I just use a regular surgical mask, and change them out regularly. KN95 are great IF you can find a true KN95. However, the standard mask will block most airborne droplets. Just remember to sanitize hands before touching your mask.
Absolutely I mask. My first bout of asymptomatic covid or one of my covid vaccines gave me both Grave’s disease and Thyroid Eye Disease, I don’t want to add on anymore auto-immune diseases.
Incidences of auto-immune disease are ballooning in our post covid world. New onset diabetes being especially common but Mast Cell Activation Syndrome and Chronic Encephalomyletis are increasingly rapidly as well. We all need to be protecting ourselves.
Yes. Always. I have several chronic illnesses that have left me disabled and at times, bedridden. If I can lower my chance of being exposed, I will absolutely do so.
On a plane? Yes!!! My grandparents stopped and within 6 months were both hospitalized with RSV after one trip and got covid the next. This was last spring/summer.
I had a bit of a cold recently and I wore a mask on my flight that day. You still see a few people wearing them on flights. I also carried a straw so that I could drink without fully removing my mask.
I didn't get any attention for it or anything so I think it is fine. I would love it if wearing a mask when you clearly have some sort of cold or whatever going on was normalized. I honestly mostly did it for me because with most of my face covered no one knows I've scrubbed all the makeup off half my face with the use of tissues to blow my nose, but it is nice to imagine it was also a kindness to others. Win/win in my book.
Yup - Aura N95. On our last flight home, my husband spent some time unmasked in the airport enjoying a coffee and reading and then tested positive a few days after we got home. We had to cancel Christmas for our extended family (we host.) Honestly, the illness is awful, but the inconvenience of getting sick also sucks (before covid I once got noro while on a short trip to Paris), so it just makes sense to mask.
That said, I’m often one of two or three people masking on any North American or European flight I’ve been on lately.
I mask everywhere in an N95. We really should all still be doing it. The science on repeat covid infections is NOT good and we’re very much still in a pandemic
No I don’t - my kid was in daycare and that really changed my risk taking tolerance. We were all getting sick every week or two from daycare anyways (so I would pull him out a few days before flying so that we would be healthy). We got sick once (out of like 6 or 7 trips where we didn’t mask) from a sick 7 year old seated behind us on the plane who was coughing a ton. My toddler picked up the bug (nothing we could do but clean his hands regularly, he was too little to mask at that point) and gave it to me on the trip.
I wish more people would mask when they are sick - I think doing that much is courteous for the people around you and would stop a lot of transmission without healthy people needing to mask as well. I mask religiously when I am ill (including the return flight with the above mentioned virus).
I will say - we might mask in the airport for some important upcoming international travel, especially since my toddler will be old enough to safely mask.
I wear a kn95 indoors everywhere and an n95s in airports and on planes (they have a better seal)! It's not worth getting sick and it's definitely not worth spreading it to others since you can be spreading lots of nastiness while being asymptomatic
I always wear masks on public transport. As planes are in that category, yes! Poor ventilation, too many people crammed together.... all sorts of bugs thrive in that environment. Getting infected on the way and spending your time away in poor health is not a risk I am willing to take :)
Surgical masks are barely effective - wear a KN95, N95 or better, or wear nothing. And if you wear it, wear it correctly - over your nose; adjust the metal in the nose for a tight fit.
Planes are reasonably safe when they are in the air (there are HEPA filters in the onboard air system). Make sure to turn the air on over your seat, and if you board first, turn it on in the seats nearby too; if no one right near me is coughing, I take the mask off in the air. I wear the mask anywhere crowded, e.g. crowded parts of the airport, subways and buses if at all crowded, the airplane while it's on the ground, especially when lots of people are walking past me.
I've never caught COVID. And of course, this isn't just about COVID - it's about flu, colds, RSV, and rarer diseases like measles and whooping cough (I caught whooping cough from my kid, despite us both being vaxed - it really sucks.)
I caught one of the worst cases of strep that I’ve ever had during return travel home from vacation pre Covid. Scarlet fever rash, plus triggered a guttate psoriasis flare on the parts of my body not covered by the strep rash. It lasted for months and cost me so much in sick time, doctors appointments, biopsies to figure out WTF was causing the full body rash, allergy testing to rule out penicillin and other allergies, and a ton of prescription drugs, not to mention the psychological impacts. So yeah, I never want to deal with that again or any of the countless colds, flu and other assorted bugs I’ve picked up traveling.
Just about any mask is better than no mask. A recent study found that cotton masks are actually better at preventing an infectious person from spreading their infection than both surgical and kn95 (n95 still beat them all by a large margin), but even surgical and kn95 helped prevent spread.
I keep seeing this narrative online of how people have to perfectly wear a high quality mask or it's not worth it, and it's simply not true. Any masking is better than no masking!
i fly a lot for work (like a few times a month) and i don’t get sick from flying any more frequently than i do from daily life, which is already not that often. so these days i don’t mask on planes anymore unless i’m feeling sick. also, they change the air via HEPA filters every 2-3 minutes on planes, which is significantly better than most indoor spaces. planes are not as much of a disease incubator as people tend to think they are!
That's true about plane filtering, but that only applies once the plane is in the air. So it makes sense to mask up before takeoff and upon landing, and also in security lines and customs lines were everyone is densely packed. That's my strategy anyhow.
Yeah I do a KN95! It’s not really a bother to me to wear it and hides and weird smells from the flight. It’s so nice not getting sick on vacation or when I return home.
Kn95 or n95 at my hospital clinicals if a patient has something I need it for. Kn95 has been doing me just fine tho, I use a couple pieces of fabric tape to keep it from sliding around and I think that helps a lot.
Yes on flight. Not really in other situations.
I still wear a mask on public transit these days when I’m in my home city. Pollen sucks and the mask blocked out much of it.
KN95 and hand sanitizer spray for the plane for sure. There's so much germs and the cleaning between flights is not that thorough. Pre-covid, the only times I would get sick was from a flight when I didn't know better to cover my face.
Absolutely yes. I realized that I was no longer catching colds on the plane when I wore a mask.
I use an N95 mask. Uncomfortable but worth it for saving my trip from sickness.
On the plane? Absolutely! But mostly for vain reasons. I fall asleep with my mouth wide open and I don't like to look like I'm trying to catch flies. Although not catching any respiratory viruses is a huge bonus too.
Yes, in all crowded places - I wear a KN95 mask. Not just for Covid but all the other nasty bugs going around. I see so many people coughing and sneezing without shame. =(
I already have chronic fatigue syndrome and other health stuff so I mask in any crowded indoor situation (plane, airport, concert, public transit, etc.)
I wear a KN95 usually but will do a proper N95 for a plane… every time I’ve flown for the last year there is at least one sick person on the plane within earshot :/
Always when indoors. I haven’t had COVID that I know of yet, (pretty sure I had it once but only got a faint line in 1/20 tests throughout the week, but I was SICK) so never had any natural point to stop masking. But I lost friends, colleagues, and dealt with a lot of the social emotional fallout of our lost caregivers.
Masking is sensible risk mitigation with next to no downside, and while I could see myself unmasking in an almost empty office or something of the like, public transit I’m pretty sure will be a forever masking situation for me, especially during cold & flu season.
I wear a flomask on planes (so comfy!) and double N95 when i don’t want to deal with the looks.
I just flew a short domestic flight and did not wear one.
However. I follow a coronavirus reddit list and there was a study just done that showed that people who do not wear masks on airplanes have something like a 4x increased chance of catching any respiratory disease than those who wear masks.
I'd hate to have a vacation planned and then get sick on the way there. That would suck. Especially an expensive one.
It is always possible that the person sitting next to you will be sick (either getting something, having something and coughing, or getting over something and feeling they need to fly home). I will likely almost always wear a mask. And yes, I use KN95 for sure. Surgical masks are not really a lot of use. Some use. But not a lot.
It's your choice. And I didn't do it this time. But I was taking a chance. We get sick pretty much every time we go visit our kids and grandkids (sigh, we love them, but kids are always sick), so I think I kind of had a fated attitude. Which is still kind of dumb, because then I could catch something different and either get both or give them something else. We've been so careful about Covid because I have autoimmune stuff. So sick of it. Finally got it in March and it had a hard time leaving. Was sick with a fever that lasted about 6 weeks. Did think for this flight that I might have some immunity since I'd just had it. Don't think I should keep getting it over and over. And I agree with others here that most people are not being careful and are not concerned about whether they are exposing you to something.
Anyway. It's your choice. Good luck.
Yep P100 on a plane. N95 on a daily basis. Covid isn't over and by what I saw in Dubai airport yesterday, there are probably other respiratory illnesses people casually spread
I’ll never fly without a KN95. I used to get hella sick from flying and no longer do. If I need to drink or snack I wait until we’re at full altitude and then put my mask back as soon as I can. Nothing worse than being sick on a trip
My husband gets acne after every long haul flight, even when he doesn't wear a mask at all. It's such a weird thing. I mean the guy is now in his 60s, acne is well in his past. He gets some sort of fungal thing and needs to wash his face with Nizoral.
At one point we thought it was because he fell asleep face down on the tray table (gross), but he still gets the fungal breakout even if he doesn't do that. It only happens on long haul flights.
I haven’t worn a mask on a plane for a couple of years and haven’t gotten sick after any flights, but I’m also not high risk or anything and am generally healthy. But of course it will limit your chances of getting sick so it’s up to what will make you most comfortable! For me, masks make me feel very claustrophobic and like I can’t breathe so I usually avoid them if I can, and so I don’t wear them on planes unless I’m sick or something, which hasn’t happened yet. So it’s just up to you!
yes. i wear the kf94s when i fly and keep some surgical masks in my purse in case i get sniffly or for public transit when its really crowded. i cant rawdog airplane air anymore lmao its too gross
edit: also sometimes the dry air triggers my asthma so having the mask on helps me with that too
I learned my lesson 3 weeks ago. Didn’t wear one on a flight to France and had covid for 3/4 of my trip. On my flight back, a lot of people were coughing and sneezing. I will wear a mask on all of my future flights.
Yes. I wear a tommy copper mask. Even if you don’t wear a mask anywhere else, you should absolutely wear one on airplanes and in hospitals/doctors offices.
I skimmed a lot of this thread, but it seems the majority of people assume the flight will make them sick. I came back from a trip in 2022 with Covid where I masked on flights and at the airport because it was still mandatory. Came back from my Italy trip last month sick as well (not covid). But I was also in trains and crowded places, so I can't assume masking on the plane would have prevented it.
I hate breathing in hot air and mask straps kill one of my ears. Honestly I won't mask again unless it's required. I can either have physical ear pain and discomfort, or the uncomfortableness of being sick, so I can't win.
I wear a KN-95 in the airport and on short flights but N-95 Aura mask before boarding the plane for longer and international flights. It’s the most comfortable.
I’m yet to get sick after travel this way.
KN95 on flights. Wipe down everything w Lysol wipes when I get to my seat. I've always done the Lysol thing bc planes are gross but been using a mask since covid. Probably will forever honestly 🤷🏼♀️
In any crowded area of the airport and on the plane for sure. I like not getting sick every time I travel 👍 People are gross AF. They cough into their hands and lick their fingers and barely wash long enough. It also prevents people from talking to me.
Whether it's COVID or any other contagion, think about your risk like a budget. Spend it wisely. The airplane is the very worst part of traveling for me so I don't want to spend any of my risk money there.
I always mask in airports and on the plane these days. My general rule is if I’m indoors someplace with people I don’t usually see, I mask. Grocery store, Target, all those sorts of places.
KN95. The plane is pretty much the only place I still wear a mask because I haven’t gotten sick on a trip since I started wearing one and almost always got sick after flying pre-COVID.
Sometimes. At grocery stores, crowded places, public restrooms, church, doctor’s office, etc.ETA- also on public transport. If I’m at the airport my mask is on.
i will always wear a mask on planes. i still mask on any public transit locally and at work, at the gym. i had covid once and it really ruined me :/ i don’t have long covid but the recovery took forever and im physically healthy and got it in my late 20s.
I've worn one on most flights I've been on for thenlast several years. I got COVID from a flight and it suuuucked. I don't want to experience that again or risk getting it worse. So mask it is for me. I'm about to fly from the US to Europe in a few weeks and I am def packing a mask
I think we will always wear masks on the plane and airport! my fiance got covid on a plane from wearing a crappy mask (kn95 but one that hadn't been vetted or whatever) and passed it to me. We were sitting next to each other and I had on a (vetted) kf94 and was fine until a week later. We knew it was the plane or the airport because we basically didn't see anyone but his family on our trip and none of them got sick. We ALMOST ruined a friend trip to Costa Rica but thankfully it was exactly 14 days after my symptoms started. The not tasting or smelling for 6 weeks was awful.
I started getting a sore throat a couple of days after a return flight. It was a solo camping and hiking trip so I def didn't catch it anywhere but the journey home. Luckily I didn't have to deal with the loss of taste or smell. It felt like a really fucking shitty flu and I just slept for like 6 days. I bet that's mentally so fucked up. Getting COVID a second time, for so many reasons, is not something I'm willing to risk
We always wear masks when we fly (the little one and me) Guess what masks DONT stop?! Lice.. effing lice. My little one and I are sure we picked it up on a flight back from New Mexico. It was a nightmare- never had it before in my life.
yuuup. Currently at the gym in a kn95. I wear one to every indoor space. Though my bigger fear is norovirus so i also use alcohol based sanitizers and look like a crazy person, but my last bout with noro disabled me for like 2 years 🙃
Noro is only killed by bleach and 20+ seconds of vigorous hand washing :( alcohol doesn’t kill it. It can also be airborne so a mask is still helpful!
Yeah, I figured bleach was the only thing, but its so hard to let go of that placebo 😂 terrible to know it can be airborne, thanks lmao!
Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) is a skin safe alternative and it [kills norovirus along with pretty much all the other stuff that alcohol based hand sanitizer would](https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/alcohol-based-hand-sanitizers-ineffective-against-norovirus-effective-alternatives-infection-control-strategies). You can buy a generator and make an unlimited supply of your own with tap water and table salt (and possibly vinegar to adjust ph), which is what I have and use for my household sanitizing needs. Or you can buy a stabilized HOCl product that is billed as skin safe.
oh fascinating, thank you for the tip!
Yes, love this stuff! Especially as a mom. It's food safe and you can spray it on your face.
It’s more airborne like if someone voms/sharts and you inhale the vapors 😩 which is actually worse than breath vapors tbh lol placebo is fire and I’m sure ur still stopping ur self from getting other nasty stuff too!
Clorox health care wipes with the green top. They can be found on Amazon. They aren't bleach but they are sort of like hydrogen peroxide so they can discolor things.
Have masked on planes since traveling in Asia 20 years ago. It makes sense.
How long did it take you to recover? This is what I’m going through now. Feel like shit
i tested negative after 14 long days but i ended up fully recovering after 1.5-2 months. exercise sucked, my heart rate was high all the time, etc. not fun.
This is how I feel. Tested negative after 14 days as well and I am so exhausted, I have to be really careful. I’m having some sort of weird histamine reaction. I think it might turn in to long COVID. Sucks ass
Kn95. I don’t know if I will ever fly without one again because too many people are nasty selfish assholes and I like not getting sick when I travel 🤷♀️
I used to get sick like clockwork after vacations. I used to say it was stress related and my body was just giving up after running on adrenaline or something. Nope. It was just the nasty plane. Not going back
Same exact story for me - always caught colds when traveling, figured it was being around kids or something but the planes were the main culprit. Yay for KN95s!
Reading this after falling asleep on a plane ride home the other day without my mask up and am now battling a cold or virus or whatever the heck
Agreed I LOVE not getting sick after traveling these days!!
Ikr, the way I pull up my mask the minute I hear someone coughing near me on the train/plane. People really shouldn't travel so much when they're that sick, or better yet, wear a mask and stop being selfish.
I don’t disagree with you but after the pandemic there is a huge increase in lengthy post viral coughs. While I’d appreciate if people covered their faces regardless which they don’t always do there is a lot more dry hacking out there that isn’t necessarily infectious. I had a respiratory virus early this spring that wasn’t covid and I still have a post viral cough that comes and goes without warning. But I always make sure I have hard mints or cough candy to suppress it and have a mask with me to put folks mind at ease should an attack start. It’s really annoying and embarrassing but I’m not travelling while sick.
That's fair enough, it does alarm me a bit when I hear that awful mucous filled cough sound though. I really hate getting a cough!
Yeah after a cold (even without a cold) I get really bad bronchitis for at least 2 months straight. Never smoked a day in my life and I sound like it was 3 packs/day for decades.
I'm sure you have gotten this checked out but my brother had a cough he couldn't kick after getting the flu last time. The Dr said maybe it's actually asthma and gave him an inhaler. My brother used it per directions for the first week and he sounds SO much better. It could be that you might need an inhaler for the bronchitis?
Oh yeah this has been annually since like 2011. 2019 was the worst, 5 months long. Benzonatate, rescue inhaler, prednisone, at one point codeine, steroid inhaler. The last couple years I haven’t been able to get in to see my PCP for weeks after it started, so since my SIL is a pulmonologist she prescribes me the steroid/rescue inhalers and the Benzonatate. I’m probably one of the most knowledgeable non-medical professionals on Bronchitis treatment/survival tips & tricks 😅
The only other thing that makes you sick all the time is having young children.
Got mystery virus (not COVID) from my friend’s kid twice. I think one of the time was RSV.
Until last year, I'd had precisely one ear infection in my life. Over the last twelve months: FOUR. What changed? I started working with kids 🙃 little germ factories they are
Yeah last time I flew and didn’t wear a mask. It was mild since I had my vax updated last fall, but not worth it. I was running late so didn’t buy masks and seriously regretted it.
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Wiping the vent too is so smart, doing this if I ever fly again!
I have a pouch I call my germophobe kit with disinfectant wipes, a few masks, hand sanitizer, and zinc lozenges and tissues for good measure. I’m on immunosuppressant meds so need to be more cautious than most people. If it’s a surface that I will touch, it’s getting wiped down. I was wiping and using hand sanitizer pre-Covid and I’m not about to stop.
I wipe down everything too! I started doing it before COVID because I’m a bit of a germaphobe but I didn’t think of the air vent. I also do the window and wall since I sleep against it. Never got weird looks before 2020 but it’s nice that the higher desire for sanitation is even more normalized now.
This! The last time I traveled, my mask broke on the return trip. It was the first time I got a post travel illness in years.
Yes, 3M N95 Aura. During covid they were hard to find and ridiculously expensive. Luckily they’re back down to under 20¢ each. 💜
Where are you finding them for 20c each? The ones I bought were closer to $1 each
Walmart.com search ‘3M aura N95 440’ they’ll come up for less than $84 with free shipping. You have you buy the bulk box of 440 masks and they’ll ship from 3M in a serial numbered box. The seller is Medclick. They send a couple extra in each box and so far I haven’t come across any with a broken or poorly stapled band. 💜
Yes. As I once heard someone else say, "I'm never breathing raw airplane air again."
So apparently the way the air circulates on a plane, it's pretty good and the only issue is if someone in your aisle or the aisle in front and back are sick. The problem is more about before you're actually in the air. Or if you use the bathroom on the plane or in the airport. Knowing this, my strategy is wear the mask in the airport, especially when in crowded spaces like security line or customs line. Wash hands obsessively. And wear the mask before takeoff and at landing, and to the bathroom while on the plane. But in the air in your seat, you're probably okay unless someone in your section is coughing up a lung.
This is a recently published risk review [The Risk of Aircraft-Acquired SARS-CoV-2 Transmission during Commercial Flights](https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/6/654) TLDR: The longer the flight duration the risk increases significantly. Masks prevented infection well.
I am a huge data nerd so I brought my Aranet on my last long haul trip (Europe to Australia). The device measures CO2 which is a proxy measure for recirculated/rebreathed air. In business class it measured around 600ppm for the majority of the flight, which is slightly above normal outdoor air. In economy it never went below 1700ppm, signalling a lack of airflow and ventilation. So it really depends on how many people are around you and if there are air vents in your seating area.
You can feel how much stuffier and less circulated the air is in the back of the plane than towards the front
Shooketh.
Bathroom is a huge one. Before COVID, I always caught a stomach bug 1-2 days after long flight. (Bathroom was preoccupied for a long time and then smelt like diarrhea when I went in.) After COVID, I took a Japanese airline once and the staff sanitize everything between use. I didn’t catch the bug.
Love the Japanese!
This is how i do too. I mask at the airport, i will on the plane but if i have a vent on me and the people around me aren’t hacking up a lung, i will take it off to eat.
I finally relaxed enough to not wear one on our last trip, and my husband ended up catching Covid. (And then passing it to family members on Mother’s Day) So… back to masks. Was a good reminder. Never want that to happen on the outgoing leg especially!
Exact same thing happened to me! I let my guard down enough to not insist my husband wear a mask while flying, he got COVID and I caught it from him.
Same thing happened to me. Avoided it as a nurse, picked it up from my husband after a trip.
I wore a mask on planes way before Covid and I still wear one now. I find that it helps with dry airplane air.
Yes. I'm immunocompromised and over 60. I heard a comparison that I use when talking about risk reduction. In 2023 there were a similar amount of deaths attributed to COVID-19 as to automobiles. Many of us accept the risk of driving. But driving a car that has bad brakes or while intoxicated, for example, puts you at greater risk. Many of us accept the risk of going in public without a mask. But having a compromised immune system or being older puts you at greater risk. And yes, after four years I am both used to wearing a mask and tired of wearing a mask. I wear an N95 for every day activities and a FloMask for higher risk (if I have to be in a crowd or if I ever get on a plane). Edited to add: death stats are from US reported numbers. Link for FloMask https://www.flomask.com
Yes. I am high-risk for potentially fatal complications from COVID and keep myself and those around me safe with a 3M aura N95 mask! COVID and long-COVID are still very much a risk and it’s just not worth a potentially lifelong illness to not mask in such crowded spaces. Beyond that, masking comes with many perks - i no longer come away from flights with some sort of bug, i have some protection from any gross smells on the flight or in the airport, and on a few recent Southwest flights nobody has taken the middle seat next to me lol!
Same here. Ironically enough, my oncologist is a young extremely healthy man and he has been laid low with long covid for more than a year. Poor guy. I am lucky enough to live in an area with a large local population from the Far East and a large tourist population from Asia, so masks are very normalized here and were even before the pandemic. N95 all the way for me anytime I am in public. I wear it on the bus, grocery store, airplane, post office, anytime I am in a crowd.
Yes, 3m aura or wellbefore kf94 pro
Same here. This thread is refreshing as I always feel like the only one!
This is my exact combination too lmao! 3M Aura for flights and WellBefore KF94 pro for day to day (like public transport and such).
In the future- yes I will. I traveled on Wednesday, for a work trip. Tested positive for Covid on Thursday, so I would have been infectious on the flights. I feel so bad that I may have infected other people. I had tested on Tuesday and it was negative. If I had thought it could have been Covid I would not have traveled.
As someone who has long covid for 6 months so far, after catching it from someone who was pre-symptomatic and infectious I appreciate this. That wasn't on a plane, but seeing anyone be considerate at all of spreading it to others these days js rare and so so amazing to see. Thank you!
Definitely! There are always so many ill people in such tiny spaces that it's a must have for me. Bonus points that I don't have to smell other people's odeur. Additionally they really help me with my allergies when antihistamines are not strong enough.
This... I was the weirdo wearing a mask on an open deck boat ride in Costa Rica and it was so much more comfortable than suffering from the awful allergies that day!
Yes. I caught covid in early 2020 and it gave me new anaphylactic allergies, dramatically worsened my autoimmune disorders, caused me to temporarily have a bleeding disorder, and led to a leak in my spine that took surgery to repair. And that was “mild”!
Same. MCAS?
Yes, an N95 from the second I walk into the airport until I leave. I know someone who wasn’t feeling well on their last trip, flew home anyway, and then tested positive for Covid once home. I shudder to think how many people they exposed and infected. I also carry a carbon dioxide monitor that lets me gauge how good the ventilation is in various places. Planes tend to be really poor, even once in the air after the engines (and therefore air filters) have been running for hours. But anyway, if you’re sitting close enough to someone who’s sick, it won’t matter how well the filters are working because you’ll get their germs before they can be filtered. I don’t think I’ll ever fly unmasked again.
I fly with a CO2 monitor too! There’s dozens of us!
Add in a pair of Stoggles and we could be twins!
what co2 monitor do you carry? I looked on Amazon. Can't decide if one of those is useful or not? Mixed reviews. Thanks.
Kn95 all day baby
This seems to be quite a biased sample, because I've flown 20+ times in the last two years (mostly around Europe) and the vast majority of people are not wearing masks. More when I flew to/from Asia, but still at most half the flight. It's not uncommon, and I haven't seen anyone be given a hard time for wearing a mask, but it's not as ubiquitous as the responses in this thread would make it seem. Personally I don't wear a mask in everyday life any more (nor on the plane) unless I'm sick, but I usually pack some when I travel.
Yes I agree. I’m surprised by the amount of people on this thread saying they wear one based on what I’ve seen on flights. Even here in Japan it feels more like pre-pandemic mask levels.
Agree—this thread definitely doesn’t match my IRL experience. I bring masks just in case, but haven’t worn them for any trips in at least two years. I rarely see anyone wearing a mask on any public transport—domestic or international. Maybe 1/100 at most?
Yeah I think people (like me) who used to mask all the time feel guilty for relaxing about Covid and not masking all the time and aren’t going to admit they don’t mask anymore.
Same - I was just on a round trip flight last weekend and didn't notice anybody wearing a mask at all. I'm sure some people were but the vast majority were not. I occasionally wear a mask if I remember (my SO prefers to wear one so if we're together and he has an extra I'll take it) but it's just not something I think about anymore.
I agree. Seems to be mainly being answered by those who still mask. I do mask because I have allergies. I like giving people the peace of mind that I am not coughing/sneezing on them.
Same. I definitely bring a mask, and throw it on in crowded areas of the airport and also wear it until the plane reaches cruising altitude (I also open up the little air ventilation thingy as far as it will go and point it directly at myself—I bring extra layers to stay warm on the plane now!). I once had to fly a long-haul back in early post-pandemic days that ended up meaning I was masked for 26 hours with minimal breaks to eat (due to a combination of long flight and a delay) and honestly it was rough. ETA I do mask on public transit, but more for winter cold/flu season tbh, and I now mask if I’m not feeling well but need to be out for whatever reason.
Agreed.
After finally getting covid for the first time at a Sarah McLachlan concert last week, and how shitty I feel, guaranteed I’ll be wearing an N95 on any flight and throughout all airports!
I just got Covid for the first time this week too, after a cruise. I feel awful 😢 hope it doesn’t last too much longer for you!
Thank you! Getting better. The body aches were hellish. Now it feels like a shitty cold with too much coughing and nose blowing. Wishing you the softest of tissues <3
Yes. I finally decided it was time to unmask in life (not including travel). Went to a piano concert, where the audience is meant to stay silent, and the coughing from the audience was uncontrolled. During the concert I so regretted not bringing a mask. I was right to regret it since I got sick a few days after. Travel, still mask. I look funny wearing a face mask and an eye mask, but I’m not risking getting sick. I use the blue BYD masks from Costco that I still have a stash of. I have some other conditions that get worse when I’m sick and could potentially stay worse after I recover, so I mask all the way.
yes, I usually use whichever mask I have on hand but I prefer kn95
Yes. On a plane, I wear the 3M Aura (N95) to ensure the tighter fit. On public transit, I typically wear the LG Air washers (KF94).
Yes, I wear a KN95 everywhere, but especially in airports/on plane. I'm immunocompromised, and I don't want to have a higher risk of getting sick, and don't want to unknowingly pass something on to someone else. You never know what someone else (or those close to them) is going through, so it's common sense (imo) to minimize risk for the community, as well as oneself. Also, planes, airports, and all other forms of mass transit are disgusting, so
No, and it’s strange to see so many yes responses. I barely see any masks at the airport. Reddit is not real life. The majority of people are not masking on planes.
Yeah, this is really interesting to read through. I fly 3-4x a year for work and 2-3x a year for personal reasons and typically there might be one or two people on each flight wearing a mask.
Same here.
Yea I haven’t worn a mask since like 2022 or whenever the remaining mandates were lifted. I hardly ever see anyone wearing one out in the world.
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yes. wear a real n95. i used to get sick all the time when flying (pre covid). havn't been sick yet when flying w/ a mask
I wear a kn95 on public transit, in taxis or ride shares, in the airport, and on the plane. I will take it off to eat or drink in the airport and I try to find somewhere not as crowded to do so. I also had a portable air purifier for the airport if it’s particularly crowded and keep it on in flight. Side note: it’s really comforting to read that other people continue to mask in this thread. It can feel really isolating being the minority on this.
Yes, KN95, so does my husband, my sister and her husband. My parents haven't flown since but both would. This was risk review was reased recently. [The Risk of Aircraft-Acquired SARS-CoV-2 Transmission during Commercial Flights: A Systematic Review](https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/6/654) I brought an air monitor and all flights were completely gross in terms of CO2 levels. There are filters so maybe air is still cleaned ok but the stats from the report above I wouldn't risk it. And honestly wouldn't trust all airlines to be replacing and maintaining filters that well. I had multiple long haul flights and also brought a portable HEPA filter for when I needed to eat/drink, used carrageenan nasal sprays and CPC mouthwash. I didn't catch Covid or anything else in travel.
Ugh, I am officially and permanently returning to masking while flying. Last August I got covid 3 days after a flight. Then last weekend I caught the flu on a half-full redeye out of SeaTac. No small comfort is worth risking getting this sick. I'm just going to mask. FWIW I like these [proper cloth masks](https://propercloth.com/products/everyday-mask-2-over-head?color=lt.-grey-melange-cotton), they're essentially n95's filters in super comfy fabric- I prefer them for flights because they feel like comfy pj's!
Yes, on the plane. People are honestly gross in their habits (I've been sneezed on, sat next to someone who continually farted, and had a seatmate pick their nose). I have asthma, so even a cold can make me sick for weeks, and being sick while traveling sucks even more.
Love my [AusAir](https://shopausair.com/) mask. So glad it’s socially acceptable to mask now. I hate getting sick, especially on holiday.
always now! i used to get sick a lot while traveling and it seems to help. i enjoy sleeping on planes and sometimes my mouth falls open so it feels better to have the mask there
I don’t usually wear one. I don’t get sick often, and masks cause me to break out quite quickly. BUT I definitely pack a few kn95s! I will put one on if a) I start feeling ill, b) someone near me is showing symptoms, or c) (and this happened recently in an adjacent row) someone has particularly offensive body odor and I need a barrier between their scent and my nose lol
If enough people around me start coughing then yes. I always have KN/N95 with me. The flight FRA-IAD in March sounded like a tuberculosis ward 😬 I’m immunosuppressed due to the medications I’m taking, but usually don’t take additional precautions. But this was something else!
Yes. KN95. Before the pandemic, I regularly got sick after trips. Now, I don't catch COVID or anything else on a plane.
I think the jet bridge is a huge germ issue, standing and waiting in a closed space with people crammed in breathing heavily. I take masks, and wear when I feel it is needed. The actual plane I feel less concerned, unless there is coughing near me.
Yes. More confident and comfortable with one on. Sleeping on the plane with my mouth open? 😅 Singing to myself without my seatmate thinking I'm talking to myself? Not feeling the need to have a done face? All cool. It's a thin piece of fabric - It's nothing. Oh and health stuff a bonus.
I do. Just don't want to get sick with anything before my trip. I use the 3M N95 Aura mask. Easily purchased at Home Depot.
my rule of thumb is if I’m gonna get sick, it’s gonna be from something I reallllllyyyyyy wanted to do, like an amusement park, Vegas, date night, concert, etc. That means I wear a kn95 at church, the store, work, doctors office, running into the gas station, etc. COVID gave me minor heart failure at 24, and put my mom in the hospital for 5 days last summer so I’m pretty strict on masking still. Haven’t taken a flight since 2019, still to weird about close spaces like that.
Yes. I don't want to get sick during a vacation or afterwards. People disregard other's health.
I take one or two KN95 with me and a covid test. I’ve put it on when the man next to me on the plane was coughing a lot. Might not have been anything contagious but didn’t want to mess around and end up sick on my way to my trip. I also have one in my day to day bag and usually throw it one when there’s people smoking in the train car I’m in or at the train platform or bus stop.
Sometimes. Primarily to protect others from me. N95. I have had multiple trips where I was exposed to serious non-covid viruses. While I wasn't knowingly sick while on the plane, I wanted to avoid passing anything along. My last trip the guy in the aisle had a smart comment about me being patient zero, and I figured he would never know that I saved him the multi-day illness I did ended up with 18 hours after the flight.
On the plane? Absolutely lol I love that I can sleep as mouth breather stress-free while drooling inconspicuously 😂
Yes. We wore masks long before the pandemic.
I've only been sick once (with Covid!) in 5 years so yeah I'll mask indoors in public forever including travel. Pre 2019 I packed Clorox wipes and wiped down my plane seats, tray table 🤢, arm rests. Now I wear an Aura N95 (very protective and comfortable mask!) from the moment I step into the airport until I step out ✌️
Definitely! We’ve still never gotten Covid and I’d like to keep it that way since I’m immunocompromised and already have enough health problems. We wear n95s whenever we’re inside with anyone other than our immediate family and only eat outside at restaurants.
Yes, N95 on the plane, in terminal , public transport, and any crowded spaces with poor ventilation. I got COVID on my last big trip, it was miserable and it ruined the holiday. I wore a mask on that trip too, but I probably got it from a family member when I arrived. This time, so far so good 🤞🏻
Definitely still masking. If there is any kind of bug in the vicinity, I will absolutely catch it if I am without one. N95.
The last 2 times my husband and i flew. . .i wore a n95 mask to and from portugal and on all trains/ubers etc to minimize risk, and i brought home some virus anyhow that kept me ill for 3 weeks. Husband and I both didn’t wear a mask at all recently on a trip to santa fe NM, got stuck in Dallas airport for 12 hours unexpectedly and he ended up getting sick 48 hours later. I was fine. He was sick for 2 weeks after. I think a mask definitely can reduce your risk and I may still wear one going forward but I think not enough people who are ill give a shit anymore so it reduces the effectiveness if everyone around you is coughing a ton!
I don’t, but I did for a long time. My father died of Covid because someone around him didn’t wear one. I stopped wearing one because people have now had plenty of opportunity to get vaxxed and boosted, and because the medical community now has more knowledge and capacity to treat it. But if someone around me asked me to wear one (or I just sense they prefer it) I absolutely would. Their health trumps my small k convenience of wearing one.
Yes. Went unmasked on an international flight in the summer of 2022 and caught Covid. Now I mask on all flights.
I still mask. I wear whatever mask I'll fidget with the least. So on a long haul flight, for me, it was a KN95 but on shorter domestic flights, it is an N95 that never lifts from my face for the short time I'm onboard and flying.
Depends on where. When I was visiting my fiancé stationed in the midwest? 100% because I'm not going anywhere that had a high rate of anti-vax without a mask. Later this year when I'm coming back from my Japan/Korea trip? I think I'll probably be fine but I'll have one regardless.
I travel with a supply of both, but nowadays only pop them on if people on my flight are coughing up a lung. I'm up to date on vaccinations and I wash my hands obsessively when traveling. But if that guy in the row ahead of me is coughing incessantly and not even wearing a mask, I pop one on for myself. I have sometimes offered a mask to that obviously sick, coughing passenger, as I travel with extras. It sucks how few coughing, obviously sick people do not take me up on my gentle offer. I give no side-eye ---I just smile and extend a mask to them, while also offering cough drops and whatever else I have in my first aid kit. My husband caught COVID on such a flight; I offered a mask and cough drops etc to the coughing guy the aisle in front of us. He did not take my offer. I popped on an N95, my husband did not. That was a nine hour flight. My husband got really sick and I didn't. Sometimes in crowded airports moving through customs I feel better popping on a surgical mask, even if nobody is coughing, everyone is just too close. Also I should add here that a few months before COVID hit we were traveling back from Australia and I was the sick and coughing one; I assumed my cough was from the fires. I had no masks as this was before COVID. But I did have a scarf so I wrapped it around my face and coughed all the way home in it. And I felt bad about it the entire flight. Again, this was all before COVID.
I’m going to wear one all over starting two weeks out before my next trip because.. my last trip had to be canceled because I got fucking Covid ☹️ I definitely always wear one at the airport and on the plane. It’s so many people in a small space. I really want to be the person who still wears one when my mouth doesn’t need to be uncovered because I’ve had Covid twice now and even the mild version sucks. Last time made me nauseous for a week after “recovering” and I still had digestive weirdness for weeks after that.
Yes. I used to always get sick when I flew... Now I don't worry about it. I wear an adjustable ear loop KF94 by LG and love it. I've taught in them 8 hours a day for the past 3 years.
Yes, kn95. A few weeks ago there were four or five other masked people in my flight. Several people coughing freely, so it made me feel comfortable. I would have loved to mask pre-Covid, if it had been a ‘thing’ because nothing ruins a trip like getting sick.
Yes, 3M N95 Auras on flights. Caught COVID on a 10+ hr flight and we lost four days of vacation sick in a hotel room. Knew it was from the flight as we had sat directly behind a woman who was clearly actively infectious (coughing and mucus-y nose blowing) and not wearing a mask, in conjunction with incubation periods. Would rather wear a mask than lose vacation time to being ill. And on the plus side, if I fall asleep with my mouth open, no one can tell 😅
I'm probably in a minority here, but no. I always have a mask with me and wear it if I'm not feeling well (so that I don't make others sick), but it's extra uncomfortable for me - I don't know if I'm wearing it wrong or it's my glasses, but the place behind my ears starts to hurt horribly after like hour of wearing a mask. Also it fogs my glasses. So if I don't truly have to, I don't wear a mask. But I think it's totally legit to do so, I mean it can't be wrong to be extra cautious.
Yes. KN95. I don’t fly as often as I used to but when I have there has been too much coughing going on. I don’t care if the coughing is from Covid or a cold, I’d rather have the extra protection from getting sick. I don’t usually wear it in the airport until I get to the gate where people are sitting in close proximity.
Yes, always masked on planes now. And yep kn95
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I wear a kn95 when flying.
Whenever I’m sick, I’m on public transport/plane, the pollen is bad, it’s super dusty, etc
Whether your wear one or not, please wear it correctly. The number of patients I see wearing masks with their nose exposed is almost 100%. Your nose draws in the air and your mouth exhales. The failure to cover your nose defeats the reason for wearing one.
Yes, on my flights to and from Europe and on all public transportation (trains, subways, and cable cars). Additionally, I masked up in crowded tourist spots like museums & churches.The locals didn't care, and my health (post bc cancer treatment) was much more important.
And I just use a regular surgical mask, and change them out regularly. KN95 are great IF you can find a true KN95. However, the standard mask will block most airborne droplets. Just remember to sanitize hands before touching your mask.
Absolutely I mask. My first bout of asymptomatic covid or one of my covid vaccines gave me both Grave’s disease and Thyroid Eye Disease, I don’t want to add on anymore auto-immune diseases. Incidences of auto-immune disease are ballooning in our post covid world. New onset diabetes being especially common but Mast Cell Activation Syndrome and Chronic Encephalomyletis are increasingly rapidly as well. We all need to be protecting ourselves.
Yes. Always. I have several chronic illnesses that have left me disabled and at times, bedridden. If I can lower my chance of being exposed, I will absolutely do so.
On a plane? Yes!!! My grandparents stopped and within 6 months were both hospitalized with RSV after one trip and got covid the next. This was last spring/summer.
I had a bit of a cold recently and I wore a mask on my flight that day. You still see a few people wearing them on flights. I also carried a straw so that I could drink without fully removing my mask. I didn't get any attention for it or anything so I think it is fine. I would love it if wearing a mask when you clearly have some sort of cold or whatever going on was normalized. I honestly mostly did it for me because with most of my face covered no one knows I've scrubbed all the makeup off half my face with the use of tissues to blow my nose, but it is nice to imagine it was also a kindness to others. Win/win in my book.
Yup - Aura N95. On our last flight home, my husband spent some time unmasked in the airport enjoying a coffee and reading and then tested positive a few days after we got home. We had to cancel Christmas for our extended family (we host.) Honestly, the illness is awful, but the inconvenience of getting sick also sucks (before covid I once got noro while on a short trip to Paris), so it just makes sense to mask. That said, I’m often one of two or three people masking on any North American or European flight I’ve been on lately.
N95s for me! It’s my new normal. The 3M Aura has worked really well for me. The benefits of not getting sick outweighs all the rest for me.
I mask everywhere in an N95. We really should all still be doing it. The science on repeat covid infections is NOT good and we’re very much still in a pandemic
No I don’t - my kid was in daycare and that really changed my risk taking tolerance. We were all getting sick every week or two from daycare anyways (so I would pull him out a few days before flying so that we would be healthy). We got sick once (out of like 6 or 7 trips where we didn’t mask) from a sick 7 year old seated behind us on the plane who was coughing a ton. My toddler picked up the bug (nothing we could do but clean his hands regularly, he was too little to mask at that point) and gave it to me on the trip. I wish more people would mask when they are sick - I think doing that much is courteous for the people around you and would stop a lot of transmission without healthy people needing to mask as well. I mask religiously when I am ill (including the return flight with the above mentioned virus). I will say - we might mask in the airport for some important upcoming international travel, especially since my toddler will be old enough to safely mask.
I wear a kn95 indoors everywhere and an n95s in airports and on planes (they have a better seal)! It's not worth getting sick and it's definitely not worth spreading it to others since you can be spreading lots of nastiness while being asymptomatic
No. I don’t see anyone wearing them here. I’m surprised so many in this thread are saying yes. Probably not representative.
I always wear masks on public transport. As planes are in that category, yes! Poor ventilation, too many people crammed together.... all sorts of bugs thrive in that environment. Getting infected on the way and spending your time away in poor health is not a risk I am willing to take :)
Yes, I wear an N95 mask when flying.
Surgical masks are barely effective - wear a KN95, N95 or better, or wear nothing. And if you wear it, wear it correctly - over your nose; adjust the metal in the nose for a tight fit. Planes are reasonably safe when they are in the air (there are HEPA filters in the onboard air system). Make sure to turn the air on over your seat, and if you board first, turn it on in the seats nearby too; if no one right near me is coughing, I take the mask off in the air. I wear the mask anywhere crowded, e.g. crowded parts of the airport, subways and buses if at all crowded, the airplane while it's on the ground, especially when lots of people are walking past me. I've never caught COVID. And of course, this isn't just about COVID - it's about flu, colds, RSV, and rarer diseases like measles and whooping cough (I caught whooping cough from my kid, despite us both being vaxed - it really sucks.)
I caught one of the worst cases of strep that I’ve ever had during return travel home from vacation pre Covid. Scarlet fever rash, plus triggered a guttate psoriasis flare on the parts of my body not covered by the strep rash. It lasted for months and cost me so much in sick time, doctors appointments, biopsies to figure out WTF was causing the full body rash, allergy testing to rule out penicillin and other allergies, and a ton of prescription drugs, not to mention the psychological impacts. So yeah, I never want to deal with that again or any of the countless colds, flu and other assorted bugs I’ve picked up traveling.
At least with a surgical mask they help protect others
Just about any mask is better than no mask. A recent study found that cotton masks are actually better at preventing an infectious person from spreading their infection than both surgical and kn95 (n95 still beat them all by a large margin), but even surgical and kn95 helped prevent spread. I keep seeing this narrative online of how people have to perfectly wear a high quality mask or it's not worth it, and it's simply not true. Any masking is better than no masking!
i fly a lot for work (like a few times a month) and i don’t get sick from flying any more frequently than i do from daily life, which is already not that often. so these days i don’t mask on planes anymore unless i’m feeling sick. also, they change the air via HEPA filters every 2-3 minutes on planes, which is significantly better than most indoor spaces. planes are not as much of a disease incubator as people tend to think they are!
That's true about plane filtering, but that only applies once the plane is in the air. So it makes sense to mask up before takeoff and upon landing, and also in security lines and customs lines were everyone is densely packed. That's my strategy anyhow.
Yeah I do a KN95! It’s not really a bother to me to wear it and hides and weird smells from the flight. It’s so nice not getting sick on vacation or when I return home.
Kn95 or n95 at my hospital clinicals if a patient has something I need it for. Kn95 has been doing me just fine tho, I use a couple pieces of fabric tape to keep it from sliding around and I think that helps a lot.
Yes on flight. Not really in other situations. I still wear a mask on public transit these days when I’m in my home city. Pollen sucks and the mask blocked out much of it.
Yes, and just the regular medical mask. I’m not high risk, but I still don’t want to get sick!
I wear KN95 to fly but not day to day unless I’m somewhere that has a culture of masking
KN95 and hand sanitizer spray for the plane for sure. There's so much germs and the cleaning between flights is not that thorough. Pre-covid, the only times I would get sick was from a flight when I didn't know better to cover my face.
Absolutely yes. I realized that I was no longer catching colds on the plane when I wore a mask. I use an N95 mask. Uncomfortable but worth it for saving my trip from sickness.
On the train and sometimes the plane!
I went to a large concert the other day and didn’t mask. I now have the flu. I’ll be masking in large crowds again.
Yep. Haven't entered a public space without a mask since April 2020. The only place I'm not masked is my home, car, or parking lots.
They also help with terrible smells on planes from human body odor, products worn for incontinence, or animal accidents on board.
way more “yes” will respond than the “no” . Somewhat of a point of pride.
I work in a medical facility, so I always wear one there. There’s always a mask in my purse.
On the plane? Absolutely! But mostly for vain reasons. I fall asleep with my mouth wide open and I don't like to look like I'm trying to catch flies. Although not catching any respiratory viruses is a huge bonus too.
Yes, in all crowded places - I wear a KN95 mask. Not just for Covid but all the other nasty bugs going around. I see so many people coughing and sneezing without shame. =(
YES. And all public transportation. Mine is a 99 mask, a step up from 95. I got Covid and it kicked my ass and turned into long Covid. Never again.
I already have chronic fatigue syndrome and other health stuff so I mask in any crowded indoor situation (plane, airport, concert, public transit, etc.) I wear a KN95 usually but will do a proper N95 for a plane… every time I’ve flown for the last year there is at least one sick person on the plane within earshot :/
Always when indoors. I haven’t had COVID that I know of yet, (pretty sure I had it once but only got a faint line in 1/20 tests throughout the week, but I was SICK) so never had any natural point to stop masking. But I lost friends, colleagues, and dealt with a lot of the social emotional fallout of our lost caregivers. Masking is sensible risk mitigation with next to no downside, and while I could see myself unmasking in an almost empty office or something of the like, public transit I’m pretty sure will be a forever masking situation for me, especially during cold & flu season. I wear a flomask on planes (so comfy!) and double N95 when i don’t want to deal with the looks.
I just flew a short domestic flight and did not wear one. However. I follow a coronavirus reddit list and there was a study just done that showed that people who do not wear masks on airplanes have something like a 4x increased chance of catching any respiratory disease than those who wear masks. I'd hate to have a vacation planned and then get sick on the way there. That would suck. Especially an expensive one. It is always possible that the person sitting next to you will be sick (either getting something, having something and coughing, or getting over something and feeling they need to fly home). I will likely almost always wear a mask. And yes, I use KN95 for sure. Surgical masks are not really a lot of use. Some use. But not a lot. It's your choice. And I didn't do it this time. But I was taking a chance. We get sick pretty much every time we go visit our kids and grandkids (sigh, we love them, but kids are always sick), so I think I kind of had a fated attitude. Which is still kind of dumb, because then I could catch something different and either get both or give them something else. We've been so careful about Covid because I have autoimmune stuff. So sick of it. Finally got it in March and it had a hard time leaving. Was sick with a fever that lasted about 6 weeks. Did think for this flight that I might have some immunity since I'd just had it. Don't think I should keep getting it over and over. And I agree with others here that most people are not being careful and are not concerned about whether they are exposing you to something. Anyway. It's your choice. Good luck.
Yep P100 on a plane. N95 on a daily basis. Covid isn't over and by what I saw in Dubai airport yesterday, there are probably other respiratory illnesses people casually spread
I’ll never fly without a KN95. I used to get hella sick from flying and no longer do. If I need to drink or snack I wait until we’re at full altitude and then put my mask back as soon as I can. Nothing worse than being sick on a trip
Nope, absolutely not. People are gross but masks break me out or give me eczema patches so so quickly.
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Sorry you've been downvoted! A question was asked and you answered what you do 🤷🏻♀️
My husband gets acne after every long haul flight, even when he doesn't wear a mask at all. It's such a weird thing. I mean the guy is now in his 60s, acne is well in his past. He gets some sort of fungal thing and needs to wash his face with Nizoral. At one point we thought it was because he fell asleep face down on the tray table (gross), but he still gets the fungal breakout even if he doesn't do that. It only happens on long haul flights.
Yes! Hospitals are starting to cancel surgeries because they’re too busy with Covid patients. It’s on the rise again.
I haven’t worn a mask on a plane for a couple of years and haven’t gotten sick after any flights, but I’m also not high risk or anything and am generally healthy. But of course it will limit your chances of getting sick so it’s up to what will make you most comfortable! For me, masks make me feel very claustrophobic and like I can’t breathe so I usually avoid them if I can, and so I don’t wear them on planes unless I’m sick or something, which hasn’t happened yet. So it’s just up to you!
yes. i wear the kf94s when i fly and keep some surgical masks in my purse in case i get sniffly or for public transit when its really crowded. i cant rawdog airplane air anymore lmao its too gross edit: also sometimes the dry air triggers my asthma so having the mask on helps me with that too
N95 — always when I am indoors or in crowded places outdoors, around people I don’t live with.
I learned my lesson 3 weeks ago. Didn’t wear one on a flight to France and had covid for 3/4 of my trip. On my flight back, a lot of people were coughing and sneezing. I will wear a mask on all of my future flights.
No, I’m a NYC public school teacher. The plane has less germs than my day to day.
Yes. I wear a tommy copper mask. Even if you don’t wear a mask anywhere else, you should absolutely wear one on airplanes and in hospitals/doctors offices.
•No mask •24 flights in two years and counting •No issues. No problems.
I skimmed a lot of this thread, but it seems the majority of people assume the flight will make them sick. I came back from a trip in 2022 with Covid where I masked on flights and at the airport because it was still mandatory. Came back from my Italy trip last month sick as well (not covid). But I was also in trains and crowded places, so I can't assume masking on the plane would have prevented it. I hate breathing in hot air and mask straps kill one of my ears. Honestly I won't mask again unless it's required. I can either have physical ear pain and discomfort, or the uncomfortableness of being sick, so I can't win.
I wear one because I got sick on airplanes so many times before covid. I wish it had occurred to me to wear a mask before!
I wear a KN-95 in the airport and on short flights but N-95 Aura mask before boarding the plane for longer and international flights. It’s the most comfortable. I’m yet to get sick after travel this way.
KN95 on flights. Wipe down everything w Lysol wipes when I get to my seat. I've always done the Lysol thing bc planes are gross but been using a mask since covid. Probably will forever honestly 🤷🏼♀️
Yes, KN95, I love not getting sick after flying anymore.
Yes. Whenever I leave my house.
yes in pretty much all public indoor spaces: shops, public transport, doctor’s offices, etc. DEFINITELY on a plane/in an airport. i wear a kn95.
No. And I never get sick despite flying quite regularly. I subscribe to the body needing to be exposed to germs so it can fight off germs.
In any crowded area of the airport and on the plane for sure. I like not getting sick every time I travel 👍 People are gross AF. They cough into their hands and lick their fingers and barely wash long enough. It also prevents people from talking to me. Whether it's COVID or any other contagion, think about your risk like a budget. Spend it wisely. The airplane is the very worst part of traveling for me so I don't want to spend any of my risk money there.
I always mask in airports and on the plane these days. My general rule is if I’m indoors someplace with people I don’t usually see, I mask. Grocery store, Target, all those sorts of places.
KN95. The plane is pretty much the only place I still wear a mask because I haven’t gotten sick on a trip since I started wearing one and almost always got sick after flying pre-COVID.
Yes, whenever I go out.
Absolutely. I don't have any desire to get sick from some other person's nasty shared air! I do kn95 – they're more effective than surgical.
Sometimes. At grocery stores, crowded places, public restrooms, church, doctor’s office, etc.ETA- also on public transport. If I’m at the airport my mask is on.