DIRTY SECRET
Flight attendant reveals the grim cleaning secrets of the cabin – and it’s not good news for window seat passengers
She also revealed the nauseating things passengers get up to in the bathroom
A FLIGHT attendant has revealed the grim secrets of plane cabins - and it's not good news for window seat passengers.
Cher, from Texas, shared the disgusting passenger habits and cleaning shortcuts that may come as a "surprise" to customers.
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Speaking on her TikTok channel, she warned in particular of barely-cleaned window shades.
She said: "Number one, I've never seen the window shade get wiped off ever in my career,' she shared."
She added that passengers are prone to touching these shades, saying: "They're filthy".
The same lax cleaning efforts apply to seatbelts, according to the Texan - and "not just the buckle part".
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She said: "I've seen blowout diapers and vomit on it numerous times."
She then cautioned against walking around barefoot, as the carpet has probably seen its fair share of vomit too.
Turned her attention to aeroplane bathrooms, Cher revealed that people often vomit in the sink.
She claimed to have witnessed this nauseating event "numerous times".
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But, according to the flight attendant of five years, the sinks barely ever get cleaned.
She said: "If you drop something in there I'd consider it a loss.
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"Never have I seen the sinks get cleaned out."
As a result, passengers should never consider drinking water from the sink, the TikToker insisted.
She explained that the water was "filthy" and had "so much bacteria" in it.
Unfortunately for flyers, this means washing your hands is also a less than appetising prospect, with Cher adding: "Washing your hands with it is probably not great."
Aside from the sheer disgust of washing your hands in traces of vomit, she also claimed that the water is likely to damage your nails.
Alluding to the viral trend where influencers do their skincare routines on-board flights, the expert concluded that this wasn't advisable due to the awful hygiene she's seen in plane bathrooms.
Users rushed to the comments to share their astonishment, with one writing: "So what DOES get cleaned on a plane??"
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Another said: "For the price of a ticket the plane should be cleaned well DAILY!!"
A third chimed in with their own advice, saying: "I always bring sanitizing wipes and wipe down every touch point as soon as I sit down. I’m so surprised that I don’t see more people do the same."
SECRET CABIN CREW WORDS
FLIGHT attendants have a special language they use to talk about passengers, including the ones they find attractive.
There are a number of other secret phrases used by pilots and cabin crew too, some serious and others less so.
- Cropdusting: If a passenger is being very rude and difficult, then it’s not unheard of for a flight attendant to break wind and 'cropdust' past the offender.
- Code Adam: This is used by airport staff to alert other staff of a missing child, in honour of Adam Walsh, a child who was abducted in a department store in 1981.
- 7500: If a pilot "squawks 7500" it means the plane has been hijacked, or a hijacking is a threat.
- Crosscheck: If you hear this phrase, usually made by senior cabin crew, it means that the emergency slides attached to each door have been deactivated.
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