News 12 at 11 o'clock -- December 14, 2009

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- During the busy travel season people are doing whatever they can to keep from getting sick, including airports after the spread of the H1N1 virus and other sicknesses.

With many people coming together, it's easy for something to spread, especially since a passenger never knows who they will be sitting near on the airplane.

Paul and Robin Smith were checking into a holiday trip for two to Utah for a skiing trip.

"I'm excited we love to ski so it's going to be fun," Paul said.

With two connecting flights he has a long wait, which will put him around a lot of people where he could get sick, but he's not worried because he will be sitting next to Robin.

"I'm in school at MCG and she works at MCG," he said. "So we'll just wash our hands."

With so many people coming in and out of the Augusta Regional Airport, the airport is doing what they can to prevent people from getting sick, said marketing director, Diane Johnston.

"Anywhere that people come into quite a bit of contact with each other we have one of the hand sanitizer stations, " Johnston said.

But it's inside the plane, where MCG family care doctor Jennifer Herbert said people can really catch a bug.

"The air is recycled so the air that's blowing above you has been exposed to other parts of the plane," Herbert said.

The air flow means anyone's germ could fly right into your immune system and make you sick.

"The first thing you want to do is keep your hands clean, washing your hands," she said. "When coughing or sneezing do it into your arm or shoulder and hopefully the person next to you would respect you enough to do the same."

But if they don't respect that and can't help it, you can wear a mask, which Herbert said will certainly prevent everything.

Paul and Robin weren't wearing a mask nor was anyone else in the airport while News 12 was there, but Paul hopes he doesn't catch anything that will keep him off the slopes on their vacation.

"If I get it, I'll just stay at home rest," he said. "Hopefully it won't knock me out of skiing."

A few other things to be sure to do is drink plenty of fluids and try to get up here and there to keep the blood flowing in your legs, Dr. Herbert said.