Are you traveling on an airplane soon? Here are a few things about masks you’ll want to know.
Airlines around the world are modifying their mask rules. For example, Finnair, Finlands largest airline has banned fabric masks and masks with valves, similar policies apply to Air France and the German airline Lufthansa.
Within the U.S., domestic airlines in general have not yet taken a stance against cloth masks that have a minimum of two layers. But there are a lot of things that are prohibited. Some of the items generally not allowed include bandanas, scarves, mesh cloth, ski masks, your shirt, or any mask with a slit or vent. Face shields are usually allowed, but only if a mask is worn, they won’t let you forgo the mask.
Many airlines also prohibit face or body tents or pods, personal air purifiers or refreshers, ozone generators, masks connected to the filter by tubing, or any mask that is battery powered.
So why are cloth facemarks being prohibited? Well thats because many studies that have recently come out show theses types of masks to be rather ineffective.
So what should you wear? Let’s take a look at a few options then I’ll share what I use when I travel. These options are allowed on pretty much every airline right now.
The first is the classic surgical mask, they come in many colors and sizes and are relatively inexpensive. The downside of these masks is that if they aren’t perfectly fitted you can have airflow being redirected out the top on either side of the nose, or through the sides. Even though the mask protects the wearer, a recent study by the University of Waterloo in Canada shows that the effectiveness for not properly fitted masks is about 10% for those around you.
Next we have the N95 and the KN95. These are the gold standards for both the medical and construction industries. N95 masks filter out about 99.8% of particulates of about 0.1 microns or larger. And they are more formfitting than the surgical masks.
Many of us don’t know what the difference is between a N95 and a KN95. They are almost the same, in fact the performance can be near identical. The difference is that the N95 is certified for medical settings within the U.S. The reason for that is that N95 is the U.S. standard, while the KN95 is the Chinese standard. But don’t let that stop you from purchasing a KN95 mask, like I said the performance is near identical. Additionally, at the beginning of the pandemic the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized the use of KN95 masks as a suitable alternative for N95 masks which were in short supply.
So what do I wear when I travel?
I use a combination depending on where I am. I usually carry both surgical and KN95 masks. I wear the surgical in the airport, and I usually try to do a quick swap to a KN95 when I am boarding the plane. General travel I do wear the surgical mask more.
I really like the disposable masks when traveling. I usually have a messenger bag or backpack with me, which I keep extra masks in. So if I loose one, no big deal, I just grab another. Also I like that I don’t have to worry about cleaning the mask. There are some really cool non-disposable masks out there. Most of these need to be cleaned regularly, and more so when traveling. And that’s just a hassle I don’t want.
When traveling, especially because of my disability I like to keep things as simple as possible. So for me the disposable masks are the best option.
