Published on : Saturday, November 3, 2018
Seat belts, washroom handles, and tray tables are the other extremely dirty surfaces on a plane.
The episode broadcasting these findings was aired by ‘Marketplace’ on Oct. 26. 2018.
CBC reported that the investigators booked 18 short flights on three different airlines -Air Canada, WestJet, and Porter between Ottawa and Montreal. They collected more than 100 samples from a variety of surfaces.
Keith Warriner, a microbiologist at the University of Guelph, tested and analyzed the samples for bacteria, yeast, mold, and E.coli.
Airplanes are plagued by germs because flight attendants didn’t get enough time to properly disinfect an entire aircraft between the flights.
Seat belts had mold and yeast on one-third of collected samples. Seat pockets are extremely dirty, as several samples contained a high aerobic count, mold, coliforms, and E.coli.
Headrests carried hemolytic bacteria, E.coli, and the highest aerobic count. Tray tables carried high levels of mold and other bacteria.
Washroom handles carried bacteria as well as a high aerobic count, which is bacteria that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says indicates the level of microorganism in a product.
It is recommended to carry hand sanitizers and antibacterial wipes and wipe down the dirtiest surfaces one can touch on an airplane.