Editing Airport (section)

== Airport hygiene and public health concerns ==
Airports, as major international travel hubs, have the potential to be significant transmission points for infectious diseases. A notable study conducted during the peak of the 2015–2016 [[flu season]] at Helsinki-Vantaa airport in Finland revealed that commonly touched surfaces in airports, especially the plastic security screening trays, are highly susceptible to contamination by respiratory viruses. These trays are touched by hundreds of passengers daily and, being made of plastic, a non-porous material, provide an environment where viruses can survive for extended periods. In comparison, bathroom surfaces in the same airport tested negative for respiratory viruses, possibly indicating a heightened awareness of hygiene in these spaces.<ref>{{cite web |title=Airport security bins can be germier than the bathrooms, a new study finds |website=[[Insider.com]] |year=2018 |url=https://www.insider.com/airport-security-bins-germs-virus-study-2018-9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812223834/https://www.insider.com/airport-security-bins-germs-virus-study-2018-9 |archive-date=2023-08-12 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Ikonen | first1 = N | last2 = Savolainen-Kopra | first2 = C | display-authors = 1 |title=Deposition of respiratory virus pathogens on frequently touched surfaces at airports |journal=BMC Infectious Diseases |volume=18 |issue=437 |year=2018 | page = 437 |doi= 10.1186/s12879-018-3150-5| pmid = 30157776 | pmc = 6116441 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

Hand hygiene plays a pivotal role in preventing the spread of infectious diseases in airports. Research indicates that only about 70% of individuals wash their hands after using the toilet, and of those, only 50% do so correctly. In airport settings, just one in five individuals maintain clean hands—defined as washing with soap for at least 15 seconds in the preceding hour. Given the frequent touching of shared surfaces in airports, such as trays, railings, and touch panels, this poses a significant risk for disease transmission. A study from the [[University of Cyprus]] and [[MIT]] used models and simulations to demonstrate that increasing hand cleanliness from 20% to 30% in all airports could reduce the potential global impact of a disease by 24%. If cleanliness levels reached 60%, this impact could decrease by 69%. Focusing on just the top 10 most influential airports for disease spread, enhancing hand hygiene practices could still significantly reduce disease transmission rates from 45% to 37%. The findings underscore the importance of promoting hand-washing in airports as a key measure in preventing the global spread of diseases.<ref>{{cite web |title=Study Shows The Huge Impact Our Gross Airport Hygiene Has on The Spread of Pandemics |year=2020 |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/we-can-help-stop-pandemics-if-we-just-wash-our-hands-better-at-airports-study-shows |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604212451/https://www.sciencealert.com/we-can-help-stop-pandemics-if-we-just-wash-our-hands-better-at-airports-study-shows |archive-date=2023-06-04 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Nicolaides | first1 =C | last2 = Avraam | first2 = D | display-authors = 1 | title=Hand-Hygiene Mitigation Strategies Against Global Disease Spreading through the Air Transportation Network |journal=Risk Anal. |volume=40 |issue=4 |year=2020 | pages =723–740 | url = https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31872479/ |doi=10.1111/risa.13438| pmid =31872479 | bibcode =2020RiskA..40..723N | hdl =1721.1/125526 | s2cid =209464045 | hdl-access =free }}</ref>