THE AIR IN AIRPLANE CABINS IS BETTER THAN YOU THINK

The next time you’re flying on an airplane near someone with a hacking cough, it might make you feel better to know that the air in an airplane cabin is recycled. Most people mistakenly think that the air in an airplane cabin is not refreshed in flight. Actually, fresh air is continuously introduced in the cabin throughout the flight. The jets are already sucking in and compressing huge volumes of air to burn with aviation fuel. Some of this is diverted for the passengers to breath after being ducted around the wings to cool. Air already in the cabin is passed through high-efficiency particulate filters to remove bacteria and then mixed 50:50 with the fresh air. Excess air is vented to the rear of the plane to maintain cabin pressure. The air in the cabin is completely replaced around 15 times an hour to control the temperature and remove contaminants.