ONCE, TRAVELLING on an aeroplane was usually a relaxed and pleasant experience for the passenger. Airline staff greeted you with a smile and assigned you a designated seat, a meal was provided and the plane always appeared clean.
However, nowadays passengers board planes in much the same rushing manner as they board buses and frequently disembark feeling unclean, as a result of sitting in seats in close proximity to fellow-travellers,who frequently sneeze and cough without using a tissue.
The standard of travel in aeroplanes today has been compared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to that of travel in the Middle Ages. Where once “deadly plagues were shipped from one continent to another, carried by flea-infested rats on board ships, today they travel by plane, carried by airline passengers from one corner of the earth to another. And all in a matter of hours”.
Since 9/11, airlines worldwide have been striving to be as competitive as possible by introducing low air fares, while increasing the number of flights. This has been primarily achieved by having a quick turnaround on flights. However, it has come at a cost to the passenger: a lack of cleanliness. I saw this firsthand on a recent flight to central Europe.
Pull-down trays on planes should be sufficiently clean for their primary purpose: placing food on them. Instead, on this occasion, I was appalled to find the residue of the previous passenger’s meal, which was stained and fixed so hard to the tray that it could not be removed without cleaning materials. My companion fared no better: their tray had a large lump of chewing-gum stuck to it.
Concerned for my personal health, I brought this to the attention of a flight attendant. She shrugged her shoulders and muttered, “It was another passenger”. She thrust four napkins into my hand, saying, “That’s all I can give you”. These napkins did nothing to remove the dirt.
Those with weak or undeveloped immune systems, such as children, run a greater risk of contracting airborne illnesses. To place food for a baby or child on this repulsive tray could have had serious consequences.
However the lack of cleanliness does not solely apply to the aeroplanes. As the holiday season approaches and with the continuing threat of cancellations and delays, passengers will be forced to languish for hours in airports. Prior to reaching the security desks, delayed travellers will have been wearing the same clothes for up to 24 hours and longer, with limited washing facilities. They will then sit in confined seats, breathing in the same re-circulated, dry air – in which bacteria can thrive – and using tiny lavatories that often have no hook to hang a bag from, resulting in their bag being placed on a filthy, germ- infested toilet floor.
According to one medical professional in a leading Dublin hospital, typical illnesses people contract on planes are “gastric bugs from the toilets on board and various airborne illnesses such as measles, mumps, influenza and chicken pox”. Serious bacterial diseases such as meningitis, tuberculosis, and pneumonia can also be transmitted, “all of which are mostly caused by close contact,” she said.
She advises travellers to wash their hands frequently and dry them thoroughly; to have a hand sanitising kit with them; and to maintain cough etiquette by using tissues, disposing of them correctly and decontaminating hands afterwards.
“We don’t have time on the turnaround to clean,” admitted another flight attendant on my plane. It seems a speedy turnaround is vital for this “no frills” culture even at the cost of passengers’ health and well being.