“We are,” I replied. And two weeks ago, we did.

Assessing the Risk

My husband and I were not the only ones taking to the skies. More than 700,000 people in the United States flew the same day we did — up from a low of roughly 90,000 in mid-April, although still a steep drop from the 2 million per day last year. Some were eager to see family, like we were, while others were checking on elderly relatives, returning home to report to reopened workplaces, braving a vacation, or finally leaving their winter perch in Florida, where we live. For people looking to assess exactly how much danger flying involves in the age of COVID-19, alas, the experts don’t agree. One ratings chart by four Michigan health experts that circulated in early June rated flying a 5 out of 10. Another risk scale from the Texas Medical Association put it at 7. An analysis by a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, which has not yet been published, determined that the risk of contracting COVID-19 on a semifilled plane is approximately 1 in 8,000 (1 in 4,000 when every seat is occupied), which is a revision of his prior estimate of 1 in 14,000. When several leading coronavirus experts were asked in a Washington Post article whether they would fly, most said no, but one was willing. (A few were elderly, which put them at especially high risk.) But we all spend what I call “COVID risk currency” as we go about our lives. Barely anyone is living at zero risk, perpetually home alone, hoarding all their currency. Even Anthony Fauci, MD, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, chooses where to spend his currency, such as by having a house cleaner come every two weeks, the Post article noted. My husband and I, who work from home and have avoided restaurants and other public venues during the pandemic, decided to spend our currency in the air. RELATED: Is It Safe to Travel This Summer?

Making Our Plans

We booked our flight in May, when COVID-19 cases in the United States were diminishing. We decided summer would be the best time to visit our grown son and new daughter-in-law in Maryland, before the coronavirus cases were predicted to start climbing again in the fall. Even so, we all agreed that before our trip everyone would self-isolate for two weeks, to minimize the odds we would infect each other. And once in Maryland, we would stay in the house or do outside activities only. Unfortunately, infection rates started rising in June, especially in Florida. But with no national plan to tamp down the numbers, who knew when the situation would be better? Plus, Maryland had much less virus. Maybe getting out of Dodge was a good idea. I chose Southwest Airlines because it has a long-standing policy of allowing cancellations (even as late as the day of travel) — although other airlines have loosened their policies during these uncertain times. We reassessed constantly, ready to pull the plug should we or the kids develop any symptoms. RELATED: Your COVID-19 Summer Safety Guide

As we arrived at the airport for our departing flight, I was heartened to see most people were social distancing. One counter we passed for a different airline did have a long, bunched-up queue with no staffer to separate travelers, but that was the exception. We were carrying on our bags, we had checked in online, and we downloaded our boarding passes to the app on our phones, so we headed straight to security. It’s important to use airline apps during the pandemic, confirms Terry Adirim, MD, MPH, the senior associate dean for clinical affairs at Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, in Boca Raton. “Boarding-pass screens are touched by many people, so they’re a high risk for disease transmission,” she says. There wasn’t a line at security, and the TSA agent was behind plexiglass, which felt safe. But he asked us to lift our masks to compare our faces to the picture on our driver’s license photos — an unnecessary action, in my opinion, since our eyes and facial shape clearly matched our ID. This meant touching the mask, something experts discourage, because germs can transfer to or from your hands. (We did use hand sanitizer before and after.) I was randomly selected for the X-ray machine, which pinpointed a trouble spot near my abdomen (the cloth ties on my capris). The agent did a brief pat-down without changing her gloves before or after, which was gross. (I later learned TSA policy is to put on new gloves if a passenger requests, although I also heard agents on TV complain that their supply is insufficient.)

Boarding the Plane

Southwest is famous for its nonreserved seating, so we had paid extra for my husband to board early and get us good seats. We identified those as toward the front of the plane (for faster exit later), nearest the window in order to be farthest from passengers across the aisle. The airline boarded only 10 people at a time to minimize crowding, which worked well. Making our way to our seats, we were careful about where we placed our hands. In a blog entry posted in May, the virologist Erin Bromage, PhD, an associate professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth, emphasized that a crucial way to minimize risk on a plane is to keep your hands off surfaces others touch, such as the tops of seats. Once in our spot we stowed our carry-on bags in the luggage compartment above (and assumed they were potentially contaminated from then on) and wiped down everything with bleach wipes — tray tables, armrests, seats, belts, and the light and air nozzle panel overhead. I had learned from Bromage’s blog to open the overhead nozzles full-on and direct them right at us, since this is where clean air from the HEPA filter emerges. I’ve written about the health risks of flying even before the pandemic, so I know that airlines have some of the best air exchange systems anywhere: Every few minutes, new air from outside passes through high-quality HEPA filters and enters the plane. Circulating air on a plane won’t infect you with coronavirus from a person seated far away — the biggest peril is passengers close to you. One oft-cited study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2018 assessed cold and flu transmissions based on where travelers sit on an airplane and how much they move around. The researchers determined that people in the rows directly in front and behind you could make you sick, but people farther away aren’t a problem if everyone stays seated. RELATED: Why 10 Feet May Be Better Than 6 Feet

Masking Up

Southwest is one of the airlines keeping planes only partially full. (I would never fly on one that fills all its seats.) Even so, there is no way to socially distance on an airplane. This is why the quality of the mask you wear is crucial. We were lucky to have N95 masks, which offer the most protection. I’d fortuitously bought a few last year when a girlfriend went to California during the wildfires and said the air was unbreathable but masks couldn’t be found. I decided this was an item that should be added to the proverbial medicine chest. Since it’s virtually impossible for consumers to buy N95s now (the limited supply is reserved for healthcare personnel and other first responders), next best are high quality masks that tighten around the lower part of your face, such as this type that Bromage recommends. When you suck in, the cloth should pull toward you, indicating air is not escaping; when you exhale, leaking air shouldn’t fog your glasses. On our flights, everyone wore a mask, per airline policy. Some had on good masks and face shields too. (We wear glasses, which offer at least some eye defense.) Others sported light, loose bandannas that in my view didn’t offer sufficient protection. RELATED: Do You Really Need to Wear a Mask This Summer?

Eating and Drinking

My husband and I were determined not to remove our masks until we reached our destination, but that proved impossible on the return trip. Flying to Maryland we avoided eating and drinking at the airport or on the plane because we had a midafternoon flight of just two-plus hours. (Obviously this is much harder with long flights, which makes them inherently riskier.) But we couldn’t do this when returning. For one thing, the timing of the flight made it too early for dinner before leaving for the airport. So after going through security we found an isolated corner near an unused gate and ate the food we brought. I wasn’t thrilled about unmasking, but the large space of an airport seemed safer than the plane. Then the flight was delayed on the ground for nearly two hours before taking off. Midflight we became desperate for water and eventually we had to drink. Still, we avoided doing so when the flight attendant distributed beverages, because this caused many passengers to take off their masks simultaneously. (Airlines should stagger their service to prevent this.) Once everyone else had put their masks back on we removed ours and drank quickly. Mother nature did call during the flight, but we remained in our seats and waited until we got to the airport. RELATED: Can You Get the Coronavirus From a Public Bathroom?

Disembarking

Since the airline had at least somewhat staggered our entrance onto the plane, I figured they would do the same when disembarking. I was wrong. The flight attendants could have asked everyone to remain in their seats, calling individual rows to depart. Instead, they stood silently as hordes of passengers jumped into the aisles, waiting cheek by jowl to exit. I was especially glad we were near the front and could withdraw from the mob relatively quickly. The disembarking situation is one reason Dr. Adirim says she personally won’t fly until a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available. If airlines hope to boost business before then, this is something they’ll need to work on. Once we arrived at our destination, we wiped down our luggage, showered, and changed clothes. RELATED: Scientists Fast-Track Research for Coronavirus Treatment and Vaccine

Epilogue: Would I Fly Again?

Since returning home we have stayed healthy, although we self-isolated again for two weeks to be sure. Would I fly again? Yes, to see close family, as our visit was terrific. But I found this once-routine form of travel fraught with anxiety and at least a small degree of danger. If I were planning to fly simply to go on vacation, I would stay home. RELATED: How to Staycation on Any Budget (Because We Know You Need It Right Now!)