I now realize that as someone who made a living designing HVAC, I should really spend some time investigating airplane IAQ. All the interesting links I’ve found thus far aren’t loading for some reason.
But, it does look like they use insecticides in the plane to kill bugs, although I’m sure the quantity they use is not enough to have any adverse effects, or at least that’s what they’d argue. This is concerning though, to someone that doesn’t even use insecticides in her home…
50% OA is actually quite good by office standards, but the population density in an aircraft is much higher than an office. The IAQ of my former offices and airplanes is just not good enough for me to be comfortable. Judging purely by feel, I think it is partly lack of circulation, partly insufficient OA, and partly low humidity. This article on aircraft IAQ published by ASHRAE (industry standard for IAQ issues) is probably worth reading, but it won’t load for some reason on my PC right now.
I’m sure the health effects are pretty minimal for the casual traveler, but for airline industry folks that make a living flying planes or flying in them, it is more concerning. Add to this the fact that air quality around airports is poorer than some industrial areas, and that HVAC systems are often not well maintained (I could smell diesel fuel once at a gate at my local intl airport), and it is all the more concerning.