Leaving on a Jetplane?
Two workers at Oxford University (Tatum and Hay) have analysed records for more than 3m scheduled flights on a world basis between May 2005 and April 2006 (http://environment.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,,2054272,00.html). They conclude that global air travel is becoming an important threat to both biodiversity and public health by facilitating the travel of alien species and infectious diseases to new locations. They determined that overall the greatest threat to all countries occurred between June and August when the climatic conditions were similar in most locations and passenger numbers were highest. More detailed breakdown revealed that the greatest threat for the UK in January was via flights from east China and Japan whereas in July flights from the east coast of South America were most problematic. The already beleaguered Hawaiian islands were at risk from airline assisted passage of alien species from several countries (in east Asia, Central America and the Caribbean) over a period of a few months (again when climates matched).
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