Picking the right outfit for a journey by air may appear to be too simple a decision. Yet, as reports suggest, instead of choosing shorts or dresses, one should think more carefully about their choices before heading to the airport.
Nelms, an expert in air travel with 11 years of experience, shared what she thinks on the importance of wearing something that covers the legs during a flight.
“This is something that I would like to say as a long-serving flight attendant: forget about wearing shorts, dresses, or skirts during your flight,” she said.
Why Wearing Trousers Makes More Sense
Nelms explained why wearing shorts can be such a bad choice of clothing. As soon as they choose to wear shorts, their legs come in trouble with the seats of the airplane. Even if a passenger uses their own disinfectant wipes, this does not imply that the entire seat surface was properly disinfected before the next passenger used it.
In fact, her suggestion is absolutely clear: when traveling by airplane, put on your pants.
The problem here is that the hygiene in airplanes does not seem to be a priority for cleaning teams that work there.
Another flight attendant, Killough, based in Dallas, Texas, has given a similar warning about using shorts on planes.
In a TikTok video of April, Killough pointed out a point which many travelers may not consider when it comes to the cleanliness of the aircraft. She said that four diapers were changed on the airplane seats during only one flight the previous day.
This case explains why passengers may wish to limit their naked skin touching the airplane seats.
How Often Are Planes Cleaned?
Planes are cleaned usually between flights, but this depends highly on the length of a layover and the cleaning procedures of the airline.
The vice president of Aviation Company that provides the cleaning and maintenance services of airplanes, stated that the cleaning procedures usually take place between the flights.
Usually, cleaning focuses on such areas as the plane’s galley, toilets, and getting rid of trash in the airplane cabin and the passenger’s areas.
Given the fact that the layover times might be not very long, the cleaning crew will probably not have a possibility to deal with cleaning the passenger seats and surfaces detailedly.
Occurrence of Deep Cleaning
The effective process of cleaning is seen in the case when the airliner completes a long distance flight and remains grounded for a long time.
As Alford expresses, planes that have completed flights with the duration of around eight up to ten hours are subject to a more thorough cleaning at night.
In this way, this cleaning process focuses on the areas where passengers seat, as galley and toilet are to be cleaned as well.
Some airlines use a special device that helps to carry deep cleaning. Nevertheless, such type of cleaning does not take place after each flight.
The number of deep cleans depend on airline, aircraft type, flight schedules, and operational needs.
Clothing Recommendations for the Flight
The advice issued by airline employees does not mean that one should not wear such clothing as shorts, skirts, or clothes of other types. The reason why long pants are worn is that they help the passenger to avoid the contact with dirty surfaces.
Ultimately, airplane clothing comes down to personal preference, but understanding how aircraft cabins are cleaned can help passengers make more informed choices before their next journey.
