Just so you know

When commercial flights began in 1958 passengers breathed in air supplied directly from the atmosphere using compressors.

But this was deemed to be too expensive, so in 1962 a system was installed to draw the air from the heart of the engines — known today as “bleed” air.
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Air is drawn out of the compression section of the engine and cooled. It then enters the cabin, where it mixes with recirculated air that has passed through filters designed to remove bacteria and viruses.

These “recirculated air” filters do not remove any fumes or vapours from the engine.

So if engine oil or hydraulic fuel leaks, because of poorly designed or faulty seals, or even over-filled tanks, toxic chemicals can contaminate the air supply.

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At the very least this can cause drowsiness, headaches, flu-like symptoms and nausea — the kind of symptoms that Dr Nicola Hembry, a specialist in environmental medicine, says passengers may wrongly assume have been picked up from another passenger.

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At worst, air can be laced with a chemical, tricresyl phosphate (TCP), an organophosphate, or other toxic mixtures of chemicals that have been linked to serious respiratory problems, memory loss, neurological illnesses and even brain damage.
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The only modern airliner to use another less potentially toxic approach is the new Boeing dreamliner 787 due into service soon

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So it is not always your fellow passengers who cause you discomfort, colds or flu

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Anything to do?

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Not really

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As usual we have been told less than reasonable by governments, regulatory bodies, airlines and aircraft manufacturers all of whom have known about this problem for some time

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Just add this to the list of things that you can do nothing about