Discussions
Ban international air travel.
Posted by polybore • 4/30/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: airtravel, ban, flu, virus
Polybore has just done a post on why international air travel should be banned.
It goes like this: malaria has the mosquito, the plague the flea, whereas the flu virus has the best vector of all it goes business class on aircraft. (if it gets an upgrade)
So when a new virus appears it is always going to take a while to identify it especially when many countries have worse medical care than Mexico (and it took them a while).
Meanwhile aircraft that can now carry up to 525 (A380) passengers all of whom will be exposed to the individuals carrying the virus thanks to the planes aircon recycling.
These virus ridden planes then ferry infectious passengers to international hub airports potentially infecting tens of thousands more people.
Then these thousands of passengers at the airport scatter to the four corners of the globe taking the virus with them.
Do the benefits of international air travel outweigh the certainty that one day it will be responsible for spreading a deadly virus all over the world resulting in the deaths of millions?
User Comments
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But then wouldn't we need to ban trains, subways, and buses?-
Local transport is not so much of a problem. It is intercontinental air travel that poses the greatest risk.
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Are you suggesting we swim from continent to continent?-
No there is a much more effective method than swimming. Take a cruise ship. They are very easy to quarantine. Best of all because they take days not hours to reach their destination any asymptomatic virus carriers will have time to develop symptoms and initiate the quarantine.
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Not to mention that cruise ships are usually very fancy. -
What about pirates?
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You just want to see me in my bikini.
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jflower36: Just take a pirate costume with you. If you see any pirates, dress up and go ARRRR! and they'll think you're in a, uh ... pirate cruise.
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LOL
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Yes Friday13 and you can play quoits.
jflower36 Pirates are less of a problem for cruise ships as they carry armed security guards. www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6173681.ece -
Exactly fruitcake. You never see anyone wearing a bikini on-board a plane. Terrible shame. Wearing a bikini would speed up passage through the security checks no end.
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Polybore that was an eventful cruise!
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The captain and crew of the HMS Polybore aim to please. jflower36
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The HMS Polybore? Let's go!
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@polybore: "Wearing a bikini would speed up passage through the security checks no end"
Not if you have a bunch of guys standing around and staring at women in bikinis. -
fruitcake the solution to that problem is separate security gates based on gender.
Bermuda shorts for the guys, bikinis for the Gals. Different security gates and a screen between them also eunuchs only for security staff.
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Now you say that, I was planning on coming to polybore jr's christening-
Heck you have just missed it. He put on a grand show laughed all the way through and there was much splashing. Maybe the next one.
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dag nabit!!!!!!!!!!! day late and dollar short always, you know I expect some pics of him in my email inbox lol
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So when do we get the itinerary?
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"bla bla bla... will be exposed to the individuals carrying the virus thanks to the planes aircon recycling."
Do you suggest a plane with an open air cylinder body? Wow that sounds funky for me. Nice to have those "sport plane".-
"Do you suggest a plane with an open air cylinder body?" That is an excellent idea.
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In my opinion, that's right up there with banning gunpowder and agriculture.
I can understand the impulse to ban relatively new technologies and customs that have unexpected or unwanted effects: but I think the path of wisdom is to sort out the problems, rather than go back to the good old days of arguing with hyenas over a carcass.-
A bit of absolutely shameless self-promotion:
A point, related to the air travel aspect of this discussion thread, is whether or not humans should be allowed on flight crews. ( www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/entry/flight-188-time-to-ban-humans-from-flight... )
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Said that way, international air travel does sound like a cure for the global population explosion. Maybe it should be required before anyone can get treated with antibiotics. -
Ridiculous.-
Those were my thoughts exactly. Instead of figuring out any way to improve international air travel or preventing the original causes of the problems that may arise often enough on international air travel, just ban it altogether.
Now to sign up for the epic boat ride that I'll need to take every 6 months from Sydney to New York and vice versa. Although that boat would be nice once in awhile when I'm less eager to just get to the destination lol. -
Indeed. It would be MUCH easier to change how air circulation works, or I dunno, give health tests to travellers (not that that's a good solution), or just deal with the fact that we're in a global world now. People have been carrying diseases via travel for way longer than the invention of the plane.
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@many countries have worse medical care than Mexico
Sounds like another self absorbed narrow ass view of America vs world. Grow up
Substantiate before trying to throw in numbers of how many a plane can seat etc -
How about we teach people to wash their hands after they poop?-
stitch their rectums so they cant poop anymore
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