Flying dirty

The flight stewardess showed me to my aisle seat and I smiled to see the middle seat was kept vacant. I was about to strap my belt when a strong, pungent odor knocked out my cheery grin.  The smell was coming from a passenger who sat on the opposite side of my seat. Quickly, I nudged the stewardess and whispered, “I’ve got a problem; the man in the same row smells awfully bad and I won’t be able to survive this 18-hour flight.” She cupped her mouth and said, “Oh dear, wait until all the passengers are seated and I will move you.” My friend who was traveling with me was surprised to see me several rows behind our assigned seats. I also wore a sachet of Vaporine or a mentholated air purifier around my neck. “Where’s the smell?” she laughed. 

This was one of the downsides to flying, a dirty one, if you consider the odious bacteria that hop around in the aircraft. My friend, Juris Telmo, sent me a list of the “germiest” parts of traveling and when I thought about it, she hit the nail on the head with the following:

Germ no. 1: The trolley at the airport where you load your luggage. This has been pushed and used by millions of passengers and you only need one person with a running nose to transfer the bacteria from his nose to the handle of the pushcart and to your hands.

Rx: Wipe the trolley with wet wipes before using it.

These trays exhibit food stains and water marks, and cleaners do not normally lift these trays out of their storage slots to clean them.

Germ no. 2: The floor or the rug that you step on when you remove your shoes to pass through Security. The rug would have been stepped upon by passengers with sweaty soles with all kinds of fungus and foot rash. Oh all right, you only spent a few minutes without shoes so maybe, you won’t catch any foot infection yet.

Rx: Wear socks when you remove your shoes or carry a pair of socks in your hand-carry to use where needed.

Germ no. 3: The airport water fountain. With the restriction on carrying bottled water in your handbag, you would be tempted to drink from the public fountain. Kitty Yancey of USA Today wrote, “Drinking fountains can harbor as many as 2.7 million bacteria per square inch on the spigot. It’s not worth the risk.”

Rx: Buy bottled water or canned soda. I used to press hard on the button of the water fountain so that the water would gush several inches high from the spigot. But after learning about the accumulated bacteria per inch that have been lodged on the spigot, I will stick to bottled water.

Germ no. 4: The armchair and the remote control of your assigned seat. These armchairs only get a perfunctory swipe from the cleaners so some yucky stuff may still remain, waiting for the next set of arms to infect; same with the remote control.

It is bad enough that men and women use the same washroom so expect each corner of it to be swarming with germs. 

Rx:  Use wet wipes to disinfect both the armchairs and remote control. 

 Germ no. 5: The built-in food tray. In several flights, I noticed how these trays exhibited food stains and water marks, and cleaners do not normally lift these trays out of their storage slots to clean them.

Rx:  Remember how the stewardess hands out hot towels to all passengers? I don’t return the towel but ask for an extra piece.  Come mealtime, I use one to wipe the tray with and the other to clean my fingertips with, the same thing I would do with the towelettes given in Chinese restaurants.

Germ no. 6: Water from the aircraft dispenser. Author Kitty Yancey wrote that “studies have shown airplane water may contain contaminants such as E. coli and others as a result of questionable techniques for filling the tanks and improper/malfunctioning filter systems.”

Rx: Ask the stewardess to boil bottled water for your coffee and tea in the microwave. I wouldn’t normally boil water in the microwave at home but while on board, it’s the next best thing to having your own hot pot.

Some passengers wear the thick socks provided by the airline when using the washroom. Don’t! 

Germ no. 7: Airline pillows, blankets and headrests.  Just imagine the heads (and their resident ticks, lice, dandruff) that touched these pillows and blankets that had been “drooled or sneezed on within the past hour.” Some airlines provide blankets in vacuum-sealed plastic packs but pillowcases are not usually replaced; they are merely propped up in each seat.

Rx: Wear your own sweater or pullover. Ask for sanitized blankets. Use paper towel to cover the headrest; if not, pack your own fresh pillow sheet to use on board. 

Germ no. 8: Airline magazines. Passengers coughing or sneezing use the magazines as shields or buffer. Author Kitty Yancey wrote that many people don’t bother to wash their hands even after using the restroom in the airplane. How about those who lick their finger to turn the page?  

Rx:  Bring your own reading material or choose newspapers that have been delivered fresh to the aircraft.

Germ no. 9: The aircraft’s alley. This is the busiest part of the airplane where everyone on board go up and down, where trolleys are pushed from end to end, where many kinds of footwear leave their impressions.

Rx:  Wear your shoes all the time. 

Germ no. 10: And the germiest — the airplane’s restroom. It is bad enough that men and women use the same washroom so expect each corner of it to be swarming with germs. From the doorknob, to the toilet seat, to the floor — often wet by urine or splashes of water from the lavatory — and the garbage chute with a swinging flap that easily gets filled with soiled toilet and tissue paper. Foul smell can also be trapped in the restroom.

Yucky stuff may still remain, waiting for the next set of arms to infect; same with the remote control.

Rx:  Use wet wipes to clean the doorknob, outside and in; Cover the toilet bowl if you’re not going to use it but if you are, do not sit on the toilet unless you’ve sprayed it with disinfectant that you can buy in mini spray tubes. Despite the availability of disposable toilet liners, get used to emptying your bladder the way our mothers had taught us: balancing awkwardly on your feet.  Put the cover down before you flush the toilet, remembering not to use your hands to touch the flush knob but to use a tissue. After using the restroom, wipe the counter with paper towel and make sure you drop the paper in the garbage receptacle, being careful not to soil your fingers. Wash your hands again. Do not use the tap water to gurgle or to clean your mouth with; use bottled water and pour it in a paper cup or your own collapsible accordion cup.

Rx: Some passengers wear the thick socks provided by the airline when using the washroom. Don’t! Socks can get wet and damp. Worse, you carry the bacteria back to your seat. Make it a habit to wear the airline socks only while you are seated. The moment you stand up and walk around the plane, slip back into your shoes.

SARS and bird flu were spread by the traveling, transient population. Believe me, it pays to use your common sense and some hygienic measures to minimize or avoid contamination when traveling.