September 3, 2024, 6:44 am | Read time: 4 minutes
Reporters from a US TV show took various samples during a flight and sent them to a laboratory. The results were, you guessed it, disgusting. But anyone who thinks that most germs are to be found in the on-board toilet is wrong. Most bacteria are lurking somewhere else.
On a flight, we come into contact with all kinds of objects and potential bacteria. First, at the airport, where we check in and pass through the security gate. Then, on the plane, where we sit in seats that thousands have sat in before us and use toilets that have already been filled with heaps of feces.
No problem, you might think – after all, everywhere is cleaned regularly. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, as a test by the US show Today, which is broadcast on NBC shows. Its reporters literally flew out to test hygiene at airports and on planes.
9 out of 13 samples tested positive
Using special cotton swabs, the reporters took samples at several stations that passengers pass through during a flight. They then sent the test kits to a special microbiological test laboratory – with alarming results. Out of a total of 13 samples, 9 were contaminated with bacteria.
The highest concentration of germs on an airplane was found where you would least expect it – on the folding tables in the plane. Particularly disgusting: the microbiologists detected pathogenic intestinal bacteria in the sample taken.
But how did the bacteria end up on the tables? Former flight attendant Hollis Gillespie offers a possible explanation. She has already observed parents changing their babies on the folding tables, she tells the “Today” reporters. But the bacteria could also have gotten onto the table through unwashed hands.
The US reporters also discovered an alarmingly high number of germs on the seat belts and armrests aboard the aircraft. The plastic trays at the security gate, where passengers place their hand luggage for screening, were also contaminated.
German hygiene expert Dr. Ernst Tabori is not surprised that many germs can be found at airports and on planes. “Germs can be found wherever many people come together in a confined space,” explains the German Advisory Center for Hygiene medical director in Freiburg.
However, this is where he sees the biggest problem: airlines must carry out adequate cleaning after every flight. “If they don’t clean properly between two flights, there is a risk that pathogenic germs will be transferred from one passenger to the next.”
Germs survive for days
As recently as May, a US study showed that dangerous bacteria can remain on surfaces in the aircraft for days. For example, the intestinal bacterium E. coli could be detected on an armrest for up to four days, as researchers explained at the American Society for Microbiology annual conference in Boston. The antibiotic-resistant germ MRSA even clung to the bag on the back of an airplane seat for up to a week.
A few years ago, Air New Zealand employees found out that inadequate cleaning on planes can lead to increased cases of infection: A passenger who was obviously infected with norovirus had vomited on board; the affected area was then only cleaned superficially. Almost half of the 63 flight attendants working on the same plane (flights later) contracted norovirus. It is not known how many passengers were subsequently infected. Only when the floor area was thoroughly disinfected could the virus be rendered harmless.
Therefore, thorough cleaning after every flight should be a matter of course. Nevertheless, hygiene expert Ernst Tabori says the individual passengers cannot be relieved of responsibility. “Very important: If you use the toilet on an airplane, you should wash your hands afterward. This also protects you because it could be that the previous person has left pathogenic germs in the toilet. But washing your hands also protects others, as it prevents you from bringing germs from others or yourself to the seat in the first place.”
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How you can protect yourself
Above all, handwashing is crucial – particularly before eating anything. “Even before boarding the plane, we’ve already picked up a multitude of germs that we’d be better off not introducing to our systems,” warns Ernst Tabori. “Typically, water and soap are sufficient to reduce pathogenic germs significantly.”
Given the number of germs on an airplane, it can also be helpful to carry disinfectant wipes and wipe down the armrest and folding table on the plane.