If you find that you almost always get ill when you fly, it might actually be because of poor hygiene in the skies.
A flight attendant from the US has gone viral on social media after sharing what she thinks are the filthiest parts of any plane – in her opinion.
The experienced cabin crew member, who posts as @Cherdallas on TikTok and boasts over 20,000 followers, responded to a question from a member of the public – Spencer – who asked her to list the dirtiest parts of any aircraft.
In the viral clip, which has had 638,000 views so far, Cher explains that there are many parts of a plane that come into contact with various parts of passengers’ bodies, but that aren’t cleaned very often.
“Number one,” she begins. “I’ve never seen the window shades get wiped off ever in my career. Think about how many people are touching those and that they never get wiped off. They’re filthy.”
However, it gets worse very quickly when she moves on to talk about the bathroom areas.
“I’ve seen people vomit inside of the bathroom sinks numerous times,” she continued. “So if you drop something in there, I would consider it a loss. Never have I ever seen the sinks get cleaned out.”
Cher also advises passengers not to drink water from the bathroom sinks on a plane, as there is a great deal of bacteria in the water.
That ties in with what other flight experts say – according to Aviation Services, tap water is stored in onboard tanks that are rarely cleaned. This stagnating water then causes a huge build up of bacteria.
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) data from 2017 showed that 12% of US commercial planes tested positive for fecal – aka poo – bacteria in their water, reports YourTango.com.
Cher also says that she’s only ever seen toilet seats get cleaned once, and says that walking on the plane carpet barefoot is a definite no-no. “I’ve seen people vomit on the carpet, rub their bare toes on the carpet. It is filthy,” she continued.
Seatbelts are another mucky hotspot, she claims, saying that passengers should definitely disinfect their hands after touching them- or even disinfect the seatbelt itself. “I’ve seen blowout diapers and vomit on it numerous times,” she shared.
Finally, she pointed out that the overhead bins are pretty grubby too. “Think about people dragging their bags through the airport bathrooms and then throwing it up there,” she said. Urgh.
Cher’s viral video has had a whopping 1600 comments so far, with many people expressing their shock at how lax she claims the cleaning standards on planes are.
One follower wrote: “For the price of a ticket the plane should be cleaned well DAILY!!”
Someone else added: “I’m so glad I embarrassed myself cleaning everything in my area with disinfectant at the start of my flight. Everyone says “it’s clean already!” But I just KNEW.”
A woman named Elle agreed, saying: “People look at me like I’m crazy when I use sanitizing wipes to wipes my seat, tray, seatbelt, arm rests, window shade, even the wall next to me, but now I feel validated.”
According to leading health company Cleveland Clinic, cold germs can live on surfaces for up to one week, but they lose effectiveness after the first 24 hours. Cold germs on your hands can survive for up to one hour and the influenza (flu) virus can live for up to 24 to 48 hours on hard surfaces. Covid can live from a few hours to a few days.
More worryingly, potentially deadly bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella can live for up to four hours on hard surfaces. Clostridium difficile (C. diff) can last for up to five months on hard surfaces.
However, the good news is that washing your hands or using hand sanitiser regularly can seriously reduce your risk of infection.
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