Using AI to protect air passengers in a pandemic

How do you know if it’s safe to fly? A professor in the DeGroote School of Business is coming up with ways to assess and minimize the risk of spreading disease in airplanes and airports. (iStock photo)

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unparalleled crisis for the airline industry: International and domestic air travel has slowed considerably, partly because passengers fear the spread of the disease in airplanes and airports, meaning there have been massive job losses.

Different airlines are trying a variety of ad hoc strategies “devoid of clear evidence of their effectiveness” to mitigate the risk to travellers, says Manaf Zargoush, assistant professor of health policy and management at the DeGroote School of Business.

Zargoush has received a McMaster COVID-19 research grant to study evidence-based operational and screening decisions meant to mitigate the spread and impacts of COVID-19.

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