This week, flight attendant Kirstie* runs us through the one thing she’d never do on a plane, but that she sees most passengers do every time they fly.
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There are certain situations in life where you see humanity at its strangest. Normal public behaviour goes right out the window and people behave as though they haven’t been in touch with other humans for months. Perhaps nowhere else is this as pronounced as on a longhaul flight.
Kirstie has been a flight attendant for more than 20 years now and has seen it all. Literally, it all. She’s broken up fights over whether someone should be allowed to recline their seat or not, had long D&Ms with celebrities in the middle of the night in the galley (one of whom she later had to confiscate a lighter they somehow got through security and had used to light a cigarette in the bathroom). She’s walked and bounced countless crying babies up and down the aisles and, on several occasions has had to put a call out to see if there is a doctor onboard. She’s assisted a woman who unexpectedly went into labour (but thankfully, safely delivered a healthy baby back on the ground), and lost two passengers before (one of whom, died in his sleep and she then sat next to, with a blanket tucked up around him, for the rest of the five hours to their destination).
And, after all of that time spent in the sky, she says there’s one thing in particular that most passengers do, that continues to surprise her (and make her feel a little unwell).
“It’s the seat pockets,” she says. “I think everyone has the assumption that planes are given a deep clean between flights, but this simply isn’t the case. Often, there’s only a short turnaround, which gives the cleaning crew time to vacuum and clear out rubbish from the seats and seat pockets. Rubbish is cleared from the pockets, but they’re not cleaned between most flights. That means, whatever hideous things people stuffed in there before you – snotty tissues, wet wipes, sticky food wrappers – isn’t likely to have fully vanished.”
“When I see people get onboard, put a drink bottle, food, books etc in there, knowing what had just touched that seat pocket, I can’t help but cringe.”
Kirstie says when she flies (as a passenger or as crew!) she always travels with antibacterial wipes. “I give the tray table and arm rests a good wipe, and then I avoid the seat pocket. I never take my shoes off – I don’t trust the state of the floors. I can’t believe people walk around on it in socks, or dare to go to the bathrooms without shoes! And, when I get to the hotel, I never put my bag on the bed or any surfaces I may want to eat off. Like I said, that floor is disgusting!”
