You should not ignore this habit even if you have pulled the plane window during long flights.
Frequent flying causes passengers to face many symptoms such as varicose veins, ringing in the ears, dehydration, loss of taste… Most notably, when at an altitude of tens of thousands of meters, you have to deal with face the risk of skin cancer if because of exposure to many types of harmful rays, which can penetrate even the door of an airplane.
The person most affected by ultraviolet rays is the pilot. (Photo: Carters News).
According to a scientific study, at an altitude of about 10,000m, closer to the sun, passengers are certainly several times more susceptible to ultraviolet (UV) rays than usual. If the flight lasts an hour, that means you are exposed to the same UV radiation as lying in a tanning bed for 20 minutes. Of course the pilot is the most affected, passengers can avoid the sun by pulling down the window.
However, the sun emits two types of rays that are harmful to the skin: long-wavelength ultraviolet A (UVA) and medium-wavelength ultraviolet B (UVB). But most airplane windows can only block UVB rays.
UVA can easily penetrate the plane glass, penetrate deep into the skin, reach the epidermis causing many bad problems such as premature aging, wrinkled skin… even the risk of skin cancer if you are exposed. too much. In particular, note that UV rays can amplify when flying through snow or thick clouds.
So, if you like to keep windows open or don’t even open them during long flights, it’s still a good idea to wear a sunscreen with as high an SPF as possible to protect your skin.