In the HyFly project within the framework of InfectControl2020 (http://www.infectcontrol.de/de/english.html), scientists and entrepreneurs from a wide range of disciplines from all over Germany have come together with a common goal: to identify relevant hazards to public health in air traffic and to prevent this as far as possible.
The HyFly team consists of material scientists (FSU Jena), epidemiologists (Robert-Koch Institute), biomedical researchers (Fraunhofer Institute Leipzig), architects (TU Braunschweig) and climatologists (PIK) as well as companies such as the ceramic manufacturer Villeroy & Boch, Schmuhl Faserverbundtechnik and the Airport Service company at Frankfurt/Main Airport (ASG). Various perspectives, a wide range of expertise and practical experience form the basis for the promising project.
The role of climatologists at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) is the assessment of airports worldwide in terms of climatic location factors and mobility. The whole air traffic network including air traffic is analyzed to identify climate bridges (similar weather conditions between connected airports) and those changes under warmer climate conditions. To what extent climate bridges can expand to infection bridges is the main scientific question within this work package.