Don’t touch: The plane is a rather dirty place. Hundreds of passengers leave trash after a flight, miss the toilet, and don’t always wash their hands. We will tell you which places onboard are better to wipe with an antibacterial napkin.
Back seat pocket
Passengers confuse a pocket with a trash compartment. After the flight, inside you will find used tissues, chewing gum and cups, stubs, and bottles filled with sanitary bags with vomit and food leftovers. The safety instructions, which are asked to review before flying, are rarely wiped clean at all. Of course, flight attendants clean their pockets before the next flight. But if there is no time, the crew removes the wrappers and debris without disinfecting.
Side table
Passengers touch the table at least twice per flight, and not necessarily with clean hands. Stewardess Kat Kamalani reveals in a TikTok series that parents sometimes use a folding board as a changing table.
Kettle
Flight attendants and pilots often admit that they drink in-flight only from their own or sealed containers. Coffee and tea are made from board water, which comes from a special “kettle”. The container is rarely washed, bacteria grow inside, scale and sediment appear.
Passage
Many passengers take off their shoes and walk around the cabin in socks or even barefoot. The carpet covering the passage is rarely vacuumed since there is no time for complete cleaning.
Toilet
Passengers “miss” on the floor due to shaking, do not wash after themselves, do not wipe the seat, and sink. Crew members admit that they clean and disinfect the toilet once a day, usually before night or morning flights.
How to make a flight hygienic (or almost)
- Take antibacterial wipes on board and wipe the surfaces with which you come into contact with bare skin: the seat, table, toilet handles.
- Take juice or water during lunch.
- Change your shoes into slippers or socks for the plane, which will go to the wash immediately after the flight.
- Respect passengers who fly after you: pick up trash and wipe after yourself.
