A flight attendant with 11 years of experience has advised travellers not to wear shorts, skirts or dresses on a plane. Charity Nelms warned that passengers' skin might come into contact with bodily fluids and other mess ingrained into the seats.
Wear full pants, attendant pleads
In a TikTok video, Nelms said: “I am letting you know, from a flight attendant, the amount of things I have seen on the seat. Wear pants. Shorts, skirts, dresses, absolutely not. Wear full pants.”
She added: “None of your skin should be touching that seat. I don’t care if you come on board and disinfect it. Nope, nope, nope. Wear full pants. Trust me, I have seen some diabolical things.”
Aircraft cleaning varies by route
Aircraft do not always receive a deep clean after every flight. Most short-hauls get a quick “turnaround” before the next group of passengers boards.
John Alford, vice-president of ABM Aviation, a company providing airline cleaning and maintenance services, previously told HowStuffWorks that these cleans focus mainly on galley areas, toilets and bins.
Deep cleans are periodic
Aircraft that have completed long-haul journeys of around eight to 10 hours and remain overnight generally receive a more extensive clean “with a larger focus on the customer areas in and around seats”. A full deep clean goes further, when the seat areas and surfaces are removed to expose its inner workings, compartments, cabinets and storage areas.
These more thorough rituals only take place periodically, with the frequency depending on the airline. British Airways is thought to do so every 500 flight hours.
Seatbelts also a concern
Another area of concern is the seatbelt. A different attendant based in Dallas, Texas, revealed she saw parents change babies' nappies directly on aircraft seats, reports the Independent. She recommended cleaning the seatbelt before fastening it.
