Fox & Friends' Ainsley Earhardt claims now is 'the safest time to fly' despite coronavirus pandemic

A worldwide pandemic is actually the best possible time to jump on a plane, one Fox News host is claiming.

Fox & Friends' Ainsley Earhardt on Friday's show told viewers that amid the crisis sparked by the novel COVID-19 coronavirus, it's "actually the safest time to fly" because "terminals are pretty much dead" and planes are emptier. Co-host Steve Doocy didn't seem convinced, though, especially by that last point, noting that when he wife flew recently, "every seat on the plane was taken."

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin expressed similar confidence in air travel on Friday morning, telling CNBC he'd be happy to "get on a commercial airline and fly to LA if I weren't working 24 hours a day."

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But this comes as Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warns that Americans should only fly if they absolutely have to.

"I certainly wouldn't get on a plane for a pleasure trip," Fauci recently told CNN. "It would have to be something that was really urgent. My job is the public health. If it had to do with the public health and I needed to do something for the public health, I might do that because I'm quite healthy. However, if it was just for fun — no way I would do it." Brendan Morrow