Six dirtiest places on plane, how to avoid them

As UAE residents know very well, travelling aboard a plane is inevitable.

And any mode of mass transport means travelling with different kind of germs.

This is also true for air travel. There are plenty of germs and bacteria at airports and planes but what is shocking is that toilets don’t seem to be the dirtiest place on a plane or the ground.

According to travel website www.travelmath.com, the dirtiest spot in a plane is the surface that our food rests on – the tray table.

This was the dirtiest of all the locations and surfaces tested by the microbiologist sent by the website to take samples from five airports and four flights in the US.

“Since this could provide bacteria direct transmission to your mouth, a clear takeaway from this is to eliminate any direct contact your food has with the tray table. It’s also advisable to bring hand sanitiser for any other dirty surface you may touch along your journey,” reads the advisory report by the website.

The microbiologist team tested the tray tables and found an average of 2,155 colony-forming units (CFUs) per square inch on these surfaces.

“Bathrooms were some of the cleaner surfaces tested, which may be contrary to conventional thought. Regular cleaning schedules mean these surfaces are sanitised more frequently. This is a good thing; while not discrediting the importance of cleaning all major surfaces between flights, bathrooms have the most potential for faecal coliforms to spread,” says the website.

The good news, as per the website, is that all 26 samples from airports and planes were negative for the presence of faecal coliforms such as E. coli, which can potentially be infectious.

Second on the dirty list were airport drinking fountain buttons, followed by airplane overhead air vents.

Here is the full list of surfaces/spots from the study – ones that passengers should be wary of.

Dirtiest places and surfaces on airplanes and at airports:

1) Tray table: 2,155 CFU/sq. in.

2) Drinking fountain buttons: 1,240 CFU/sq. in.

3) Overhead air vents: 285 CFU/sq. in.

4) Lavatory flush buttons: 265 CFU/sq. in.

5) Seatbelt buckles: 230 CFU/sq. in.

6) Bathroom stall locks: 70 CFU/sq. in.

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