When it comes to flying, we all have our preference for where we would like to sit on a plane.
However, while we may think that it only makes a difference to our comfort, new research suggests that your chosen seat could also have an impact on your health.
According to the Huffington Post, microbiologist Dr Charles Gerba collected swabs from areas people touch most frequently on more than 20 flights, including taps, sinks, toilet handles, arm-rests, trays and overhead lockers, and found that aisle seats carried higher levels of bacteria than middle or window seats.
However, there was some good news for frequent travellers as Dr Gerba also found that germs are not spread through the aircraft through re-circulated air on planes.
“Usually the air is not much of a problem because it doesn’t go back and forth—it goes around and is filtered. So when we’ve seen cases of influenza on air planes, it’s usually only the person right next to them—to the front, the back, or to the side—that has to worry.”
