Tl;dr – Flight attendants offer their thoughts on the parts of planes that are ‘least sanitary.’
Every few months, someone writes a new article that can be summed up as “eww, airplanes are gross, don’t touch anywhere, that’s nasty.” Most of the time, you’ll see these articles in list form. And it isn’t uncommon to see them come from otherwise reputable outlets. Exhibit A.
My absolute least favorite thing about these articles is how wildly obvious they are. You’re telling me that an airline lavatory isn’t pristine? You mean that regional jet that was loading folks up right after I deplaned wasn’t serviced by a chemical warfare team in hazmat suits?
I’m shocked.
One of the latest installments comes from AllClear Travel Insurance, which polled a few former flight attendants on their thoughts on the ‘dirtiest places on a plane.’ The two places listed?
Warning: These answers are coming in from deep left field. (They aren’t).
Seat back pockets and tray tables.
I know, you’re floored.
I rarely use the seatback pocket. There’s almost always some leftover trash in there, and if you’re lucky, the remnants of the finest chewing gum that a given passenger was saving for their return leg. You snooze, you lose!
Tray tables are, again, not surprising. Save for taking a plane out of service for a deep cleaning, I’ve imagined that no cleaning crew is going row by row, pulling down the tray tables, wiping them down, and securing them once again.
Who’s bringing the wet wipes?
