ASHRAE Journal - July 2022 - 4

COMMEN COMMENCOMMENTARY
TARY
180 Technology Parkway
Peachtree Corners, GA 30092
Phone: 404-636-8400
Fax: 404-321-5478 | www.ashrae.org
DIRECTOR OF ASHRAE PUBLICATIONS & EDUCATION
Mark S. Owen
EDITORIAL
Editor
John G. Falcioni
jfalcioni@ashrae.org
Associate Editor
Rebecca Matyasovski
rmatyasovski@ashrae.org
Associate Editor
Tani Palefski
tpalefski@ashrae.org
Associate Editor
Chadd Jones
cjones@ashrae.org
Assistant Editor
Kaitlyn Baich
kbaich@ashrae.org
PUBLISHING SERVICES
Publishing Services Manager
David Soltis
Production
Jayne Jackson
ADVERTISING
Associate Publisher,
ASHRAE Media Advertising
Greg Martin
gmartin@ashrae.org
Senior Coordinator-Advertising
Production and Operations
Vanessa Johnson
vjohnson@ashrae.org
Coordinator-Circulation Development
Austin Brafford
abrafford@ashrae.org
ASHRAE OFFICERS
President
Mick Schwedler, P.E.
President-Elect
Farooq Mehboob, P.E.
Treasurer
Ginger Scoggins, P.E.
Vice Presidents
Donald L. Brandt
Dunstan L. Macauley, P.E.
Sarah E. Maston, P.E.
Tim McGinn, P.E.
Secretary & Executive Vice President
Jeff H. Littleton
POLICY GROUP
2021 - 22 Chair
Publications Committee
Adeeba Mehboob, P.Eng.
Washington Offi ce
washdc@ashrae.org
Up in the Air
It's premature to say we've put COVID-19 completely
behind us, but what we can say with certainty is that
air travel has increased.
Some analysts project air traffi c will not return to
full pre-pandemic levels until the second quarter of
2025. But they also say the reason for the slowdown is not because fl yers
fear they'll catch COVID inside the aircraft, but because air traffi c has
become less linear. What this means, essentially, is that travel volume,
particularly inbound to the United States from other countries, now
appears to be dependent mostly on local-country COVID-19 policies.
In the U.S., the government has recently lifted its COVID-19 testing
requirement for international air travelers coming into the country.
(Selfi shly, I applaud the decision since I recently attended ASHRAE's
Annual Conference in Toronto.) But other countries continue to hold on
to such requirements, as infection rates have been rising in many countries.
This complicates the ease of travel from one destination to another.
Meanwhile, travel projections between Europe and Asia this year continue
to fall, refl ecting both the impact of China's lockdowns and soaring
operation costs due to bans on fl ights over Russian airspace, says the
consulting fi rm Bain & Company.
All this has taken place against a wave of omicron variants that spread
John G. Falcioni
rapidly but produce milder symptoms than previous variants (most
notably delta). What happens if the next variant is more dangerous?
Commercial airlines must know how to respond. That's why, over the
past two years, we've published research on the impact of COVID-19 to
airline passengers.
In this month's article, " Inhaled Mass and Particle Removal Dynamics
in Commercial Buildings and Aircraft Cabins, " the authors Stephen
Trent; Angela Davis; Tateh Wu, Ph.D.; Danny Menard; Josh Cummins,
Ph.D.; Joshua L. Santarpia, Ph.D.; and Nels Olson, Ph.D., report on the
spread of aerosols generated by a coughing or breathing person. I invite
you to read this fascinating article.
Back " in the day " the air travel experience was fun and luxurious. Men
wore their best suits and women their white gloves, or so I'm told. Now
it's mostly a drudge-a mode of transportation taking us from one place
to another and including at least a bit of aggravation. But as we begin fl ying
again-for business and vacation-it's good to know what to expect,
up in the air.
John G. Falcioni, ASHRAE Journal Editor
Mission Statement: ASHRAE Journal reviews current HVAC&R technology of broad interest through publication of application-oriented articles. ASHRAE
Journal's editorial content ranges from back-to-basics features to reviews of emerging technologies, covering the entire spectrum of professional interest
from design and construction practices to commissioning and the service life of HVAC&R environmental systems.
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ASHRAE Journal - July 2022

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