This is also true for non-airplane windows, said Dr. Jennifer Holman, a dermatologist with U.S. Dermatology Partners Tyler in Texas. “Most typical windows in a house or a car are going to filter out … like 97%, 98% of the UVB radiation, which is typically the wavelength that people think of that causes sunburns,” she said.
While windows block these rays, they don’t block all rays. According to Jones, airplane windows don’t fully keep out UVA rays, which can “cause premature aging, wrinkles and ultimately can contribute to skin cancer as well.” (Jones did note, however, that “some of the older windows block out about 50% of UVA rays” and “some of the newer models are more effective at even blocking out UVA.”)
Again, this goes beyond airplanes: Holman said most glass windows, including your car windows and the windows at your local coffee shop, also don’t offer UVA protection. In general, “most glass does not filter out UVA,” she noted.
Wearing sunscreen on a plane can protect you from these harmful rays, which Holman said penetrate “more deeply into the skin” and put you “at risk for different types of skin cancer, including the most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma.”
So, who needs sunscreen on an airplane?
The short answer: everyone.
Sunscreen is important for folks to wear daily, whether or not you’re taking a flight. “As a dermatologist, of course, I’m encouraging all of my patients to wear their sunscreen as a daily habit every day, just for the exposures that we face and the free radicals that are out in the world from UV radiation,” Holman said.
