Why you should always keep your air vent nozzle open on a flight

COMING back from holiday is bad enough, but the fact that you are almost guaranteed to catch a cold from the plane is even more depressing.

But there is one way to keep them germs at bay on flight – and it’s all down to the little air vent nozzle above your seat.

It’s a common misconception that the air conditioning system on planes helps to spread germs around a flight.

As a result, passengers often keep their air vent nozzles turned off in order to stop germs spraying in their face.

But they are just making the situation worse – according to the experts, travellers should leave their nozzle on to keep any bugs away.

Dr. Mark Gendreau — the medical director and vice chair of emergency medicine at Lahey Medical Center-Peabody, and an expert on the spread of infectious diseases told : “Ventilation on aeroplanes has gotten a bad reputation, but it’s completely unfounded.

“The flow pattern of air on an aircraft doesn’t necessarily work front to back, or back to front – it’s actually compartmentalised into various sections on the aircraft.

“As a rule of thumb, the air that you’re typically breathing and exposed to is usually anywhere from two to five rows surrounding your seat.”

Dirty air is sucked out of the cabin through vents in the walls, then it is combined with air from outside the aircraft and passed through an extremely powerful HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter.

When up to 99 per cent of germs and dust have been removed, the air is then pushed back into the cabin.

According to Dr. Mark Gendreau, the air is filtered in this way between 15 and 30 times every hour and the fresh air passed back through the nozzles is half re-filtered cabin air and half outside sir.

While many germs are easily filtered out of the plane through the vents, other smaller germs can hang in the air for much longer, which is why the nozzle is so important.

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Keeping a constant flow of fresh air directed at your face and body keeps the lingering germs in the air away from you.

It’s worth wiping your hands after turning on the nozzle though – they are one of the most germ-ridden places on a plane because people are constantly touching them.