You do not do this to get sick on board

amsterdam - The chance of getting sick seems to be the greatest in an airplane where everyone is sitting on top of each other. Recent research has shown that the chances of a cold, for example, increase considerably when you step on board.

For whom do you have to be 'afraid' that they can infect you? For people who are up to two rows in front of you or behind you.

Viruses turn out to be active for hours on the surface of your folding table and storage bags in the chair in front of you. Blankets and pillows can also be contagious.

Thorough cleaning is therefore very important. But there are hardly any rules for that, says Peter Greenberg, known in America as the Travel Detective in a YouTube video.

According to him, short domestic flights are only thoroughly cleaned at night when the aircraft is stationary. Cleaning is better on international flights, according to the travel expert.

How do you protect yourself? Use a lot of hand sanitiser, is his advice. And if you are really afraid, take your own cleaning wipes into the plane.

Clean the armrest, is his advice. And an unexpected advice: open the fan above you completely. That is where the most clean air comes from.