Flying when sick - where do you draw the line?

[bussyboy]

I wondered what others experiences have been travelling when unwell? How sick do you need to be to cancel or postpone a trip, and have you approached it differently on the homeward bound leg??

A month or so ago, around 48 hours before flying home domestically via Sydney, I started to get a familiar tingle, knew i'd lose my voice, and sought medical advice: which was along the lines of "if you can pop your ears you're fine to fly..."

Despite some significant deterioration I proceeded to fly and struggled the whole time, was "that guy" on the flight. Wasn't going to die of course, but really wasn't fit to be flying and this was the start of two weeks off work in fact!)

So what's the sickest you have travelled? Are you better off just delaying, and has travel insurance covered this without to much effort??

 

[kpc]

Flew Cph-Sin-Syd in 2022 and Dar-Doh-Adl-Syd in 2023 when both of us felt quite unwell....later we both tested +ve for Covid

 

[bussyboy]

Flew Cph-Sin-Syd in 2022 and Dar-Doh-Adl-Syd in 2023 when both of us felt quite unwell....later we both tested +ve for Covid

Was the choice to fly because you wanted to get home, or just weren't sick enough at the time to consider postponing?

 

[kpc]

Was the choice to fly because you wanted to get home, or just weren't sick enough at the time to consider postponing?

The latter....we were not that unwell intially but that changed during the flight

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Morally (ethically?) one probably shouldn’t fly if you have the chance of infecting others.

Practically… if I can get out of bed and mask the symptoms so people around me aren’t feeling uncomfortable…go for it!

Of course that depends if it’s private or work related. If work related the slightest possibility of infecting others is enough not to have to go

We had a passenger a few rows behind me the other night with a deep and constant mucous cough for the whole flight. I turned around to see who it was and may eye contact with pax sitting around the affected individual… they were all horrified! There was pretty much a unison of hands reaching up to direct air nozzles towards, between and away from the infected person!

 

[lovestotravel]

Wear a mask if you are worried, it's not that hard

 

[k_sheep]

Definitely wear a mask and KEEP IT ON if you really must travel.

So many inconsiderate people ... it baffles me how short peoples memories are.

I still wear a mask on all public transport, because I can't rely on other people doing the right thing.

 

[Denali]

I think it was 2019 and departing the US and we werent well with stuffed noses and feeling very lethargic and I had a dry cough and my ear felt clogged so we sudafed up (both scuba divers, I never travel without sudafed) and got home and then was hit with a wall of illness that had us at home, sleeping upright as we couldnt lie down, chest infections, sinus infections etc for 3+ weeks and I had that cough for months. Both of us had never been that unwell again.

If it was to happen now, I would call insurance and see a Dr before we departed for home, I now travel with antibiotics etc before we leave home, and I would wear a mask throughout the flight. I would even try to delay my flight to stay at a airport hotel until over it. As long as I have wifi I can work anywhere and know theres no urgency for me to get home.

 

[bussyboy]

Wear a mask if you are worried, it's not that hard

Worried about offending, sure...

But what about concerns over personal well-being, weighing up costs of trip delays... a mask doesn't save your 3 week trip to europe turning to cough where your health may deteriorate and you end up bedridden on arrival, for example.

 

[p--and--t]

The sickest I've ever felt on a flight (but not infectious) was on an ANdom flight when I had a blinding migraine where the medication wasn't working and I couldn't stand light or noise and felt nauseous but just wanted to get home after 6 days away on a work trip.

The crew were magnificent, they cleared a row of three seats so I could lie down and fetched 3 blankets so that I could cover myself to block out any light while I attempted to sleep.

 

[Himeno]

Had recuring migraines throughout a RTW trip.
4 3-4 day migraines with 2-4 days of being fine in between.

One leg was FL (I think MCO) to SEA via DFW. Was fine when I boarded. By the time we landed in DFW, I was running to the rest room to vomit (and hope the migraine meds would work).
Overnighted at seatac, then to JFK to connect to CDG. Was during one of the Rudd elections and I'm trying to find my way around Paris (first time there) to the embassy to vote.

 

[padders]

I flew the day after my 21st birthday.

Sincere apologies to anyone on that MEL - AYQ flight.

 

[Warks]

In 1992 I flew from SIN to SYD via MEL (Lufthansa). At the time I had what I thought was a simple cold but on coming into land I realised my sinuses were ready to explode with the pressure changes. My only relief was to push hard with my palm on my eyebrow where the pain was. Of course then we took off from MEL and headed to SYD where I could do it all again but this time it was the other sinus... Not to be a wimp I then got on a domestic flight to BNE and endured it again, this time both sinuses together. I would NEVER do it again... I can't believe it put up with it three times in a few hours. I fully understand if someone says they can't make a flight due to a cold. I was a lot younger then, I think I'd just miss the flight now.