A flight attendant has shared a warning to passengers about their bathroom choices while onboard an aeroplane. Though cleaning protocols have ramped up for many airlines since the coronavirus pandemic, according to the crew member, there are parts of the bathroom that are notoriously “disgusting”.
To make matters worse, many passengers unknowingly walk into some of the dirtiest parts of the plane and can even spread germs onto themselves.
Posting to a Reddit forum titled ‘Flight attendants of Reddit, what dark secret you don’t tell your passengers?’, the crew member explained why wearing shoes is so important onboard.
The anonymous flight attendant, who posted under the username Halfpintlc, said: “Turn arounds need to happen fast and they just quickly get vacuumed and the bathrooms are quickly wiped down to look and smell clean.
“Aeroplane bathrooms are disgusting and you should never ever go in there without shoes.
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“People pee on the floor all the time.” [SIC]
Even if spillages on the bathroom floor are quickly wiped up, unless the plane has landed for a deep clean, there are likely germs left behind which can’t be seen by the naked eye.
According to Travel Update, accidents on the toilet floor also tend to dry up quickly, leaving behind microscopic bacteria.
Travel Update’s expert explained: “Air is provided to you from outside, and at high altitudes, there is very little humidity contained in it.
“You’ll then put that foot back in your shoe and forever have a souvenir of your flight.”
As well as the bathroom floor, another flight attendant shared a germ-infested spot within arm’s reach of your seat.
The flight attendant who has over six years of experience said passengers should “never, ever, ever, ever use or put anything in the seat pocket.”
Posting to Reddit under the username HausofDarling, the crew member explained: “I always recommend you never, ever, ever, ever use or put anything in the seat pocket.
“They are cleared of rubbish but are never ‘cleaned’.
“I have pulled out and seen all sorts been pulled out from there.
“Dirty tissues, sick bags, knickers, socks, gum, half sucked sweets, apple cores, and then next flight you go and put your phone, laptop or iPad in there.” [SIC]
Just months before the pandemic, a study by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) found that seat pockets had the second-highest level of bacteria onboard an aircraft.
