Don't Touch These Spots On An Airplane

Once a great novelty, air travel is now an average part of life for many Americans, especially during the holidays, the busiest travel season in the country. That said, flying does a number on your body by inhibiting your immune system because of stress, dehydration, low cabin humidity, and throwing off your circadian rhythm.

Obviously, though, the main concern for health on airplanes has always been germs. The risk of getting sick while flying predominantly stems from touching so many high-traffic surfaces and being in close proximity with hundreds, if not thousands, of other people. Many of these locations aren't sanitized frequently enough, so the bacteria that survive for hours can accumulate quickly.

In fact, areas of airports and airplanes can be dirtier than even the nastiest places in your house, such as your toilet seat. And after touching one of these surfaces, you might then touch your face, mouth, phone, or even a complimentary pretzel, transmitting germs into your system. You can't necessarily avoid some of these things altogether, but you can try to make hygienic choices around them.

Over the course of 18 flights, 100 samples were taken for a study conducted by CBC. Of the findings, one of the most worrisome samples revealed that E. coli was present in the seatback pocket samples. E. coli is a particularly dangerous bacteria that wrecks all kinds of havoc on the digestive system and intestines.

While some passengers might use seatback pockets to store magazines, books, and other small items, other people stash their trash, chewed gum, used tissues, filled air sickness bags, and even dirty diapers. Even if you would never dream of leaving such nasty garbage in your pocket, it doesn't mean other passengers haven't done it — even on the flight right before yours.

Suffice to say, overworked airplane crews and cleaning crews don't have enough time to deep clean a plane between flights. That extends especially to areas of the plane that are hard to clean thoroughly. Seatback pockets are, unfortunately, one of those areas.

So, the good news is that the airplane air vents are markedly cleaner than the tray tables, according to Travelmath. The bad news is that, all things considered, they're still pretty yucky.

While the air itself on airplanes is astonishingly clean, the air vents above your seat are not. We can safely assume the reason is that before boarding, folks walk through the airport, touching everything from door handles to water fountains to their germy tray tables. Then, when they get onto the plane, those same folks often reach for the air vent upon getting comfy in their seats.

Travelmath found that, on average, these vents have 285 colony-forming units per square inch, more than on the lavatory flush button. So it's even more reason to make good use of the sanitizing towelettes some airlines still hand out, bringing your own, or judiciously using hand sanitizer while on the plane.

It's always the places we think least about that can impact us the most. According to USA Today, the latches on overhead bins are heavily handled but rarely cleaned. That should come as no surprise because those latches aren't in the seating sections, so they probably don't get as much consideration from cleaning crews.

Airlines have no regulatory body when it comes to sanitation. Although the FAA has policies on airplane cleanliness, the airlines themselves are free to set their own standards and quality control measures, which they communicate to contractors.

The cabins of aircraft are generally tidied up between flights but only get vacuumed, wiped down, and disinfected at the end of the day or after overnight or international flights. But for real deep cleaning, most airlines are only able to do that every 30-45 days on average. So consider how many passengers go through each plane in that time, and imagine how many of them touch the overhead bins.

Many people prefer the aisle so they can stretch their legs and not disturb others standing up, but this location also has its pitfalls. Closer proximity to the aisle also means closer proximity to passengers and airline employees moving through the plane, who often use the back of your chair to steady themselves as they walk, including to and from the lavatories.

Because of how many people walk through the aisles during your flight, not to mention all the other flights, the aisle seat armrest also gets a lot of germy attention. Since folks use the seat or armrest for balance while walking through the aisle, you're picking up all the germs they're leaving behind.

Plus, even if someone doesn't touch the armrest with their hand, brushing against it with their pant leg could also leave traces of that person's germs behind. Perhaps they have a lingering norovirus or pat their half-washed hands dry on their pants rather than using a paper towel.

It's common to come down with a cold or something worse after flying. A popular myth is that the air being recirculated throughout the plane could be the culprit, but the air is actually constantly being cleaned by hospital-grade filters and replaced by clean outside air. On top of that, air in most planes is circulated from top to bottom rather than from front to back, so you're not breathing in the germs of everyone else in the cabin.

In fact, airplane air is generally cleaner than that of most office buildings. That's been true for years, but has been even more true since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Ever since then, airlines have stepped up their air filtration game. Even so, one way to protect yourself from breathing in everyone else's germs is to wear a filtering mask. A cloth mask will even be better than no mask at all. While it isn't the best way to travel, it is the easiest way to protect yourself from the one thing you can't personally sanitize.