Why Do Some People Get Sick While Traveling by Air? (Along with How to Avoid It)
We have all been there. You pack your bags, breeze through security without a hitch, settle into your seat in economy or business class, and eagerly look forward to your destination. Yet, halfway across the globe, a familiar, unwelcome feeling sets in: a dull headache, a scratchy throat, deep fatigue, or sudden nausea. Many travelers write off air travel as an invitation to catch a cold or experience motion sickness. It is easy to point the finger at the airline, the recirculated cabin air, or the passenger coughing three rows ahead of you. But what is actually happening inside your body at 35,000 feet? As an aviation professional who has spent decades studying flight operations, cabin environments, and passenger well-being, I have watched travelers misdiagnose travel sickness time and time again. Let’s look behind the curtain of commercial aircraft cabins to learn the exact physiological reasons why flying makes some people sick—and, more importantly, how you can prevent it. The...