A Covid-era invention that protects plane passengers from the virus with a curtain of fast-flowing air is proving redundant, underscoring how little travellers care about the risk of infection in the rush back to the skies.

Washington-based Pexco Aerospace Inc has spent the pandemic designing and manufacturing a device that clips onto air vents inside the aircraft. The gadget - called Airshield - forces air down to the cabin floor at twice the normal speed and creates an invisible barrier between each passenger. The risk of cross-contamination from a nearby cough or sneeze, Pexco says, is reduced by more than 70%.

The company’s enterprising add-on might have made commercial sense for airlines in the early days of the crisis, when many carriers blocked out middle seats to create an expensive buffer against Covid. But almost three years on, Airshield has instead come to highlight the staggering pace of aviation’s recovery from a state of near-collapse.

Airlines are now struggling to meet demand from a public that cares more about taking overdue vacations than possibly catching Covid. From American Airlines Group Inc to Qantas Airways Ltd in Australia, carriers are hauling in bumper profits and have little incentive to spend money on extra layers of health protection.

"If the pandemic hit tomorrow for the first time, this would be a wildly successful solution,” Jon Page, president at Pexco Aerospace, said in a video interview, referring to Airshield. "Maybe we have missed the boat. You could argue that.”

It would cost an airline about US$60,000 to fit out a single-aisle plane with the device, Page said. He argues that Airshield can still improve the flight experience for the crew, as well as passengers in economy. The product must pass just one more test by the US Federal Aviation Administration to win certification, he said.

"All the lessons learned developing the Airshield are not going to be in vain,” he said. "The next Covid, the next whatever - there’s going to be another opportunity for this.”

 - Bloomberg