The dirtiest places on an airplane, ranked

If you think the dirtiest place on an airplane is the bathroom, think again


Web Desk September 09, 2015
PHOTO: HUFFINGTON POST

A healthy passenger or a constantly-crying baby on the plane should be the least of your concerns as you board an aircraft. As you fly thousands of feet above the ground, the germs fly with you. 

The most common belief is that the dirtiest place on an airplane is the bathroom and if that's what you think too, you must scroll down to find out the dirtiest places in airports and airplanes.

PHOTO: TRAVELMATH

A microbiologist was sent by Travelmatha trip planning website, to test five airports and four different flights on two major airline carriers. Thus, based on the results, it claimed that airports and airplanes are far dirtier than an average home and also ranked some of the dirtiest places in airplanes.

Here is their ranking of the six dirtiest locations in 'colony-forming units' (CFU): 

1. Tray table: 2,155 CFU/sq. in.

2. Drinking fountain buttons: 1,240 CFU/sq. in.

3. Overhead air vent: 285 CFU/sq. in.

4. Lavatory flush button: 265 CFU/sq. in.

5. Seatbelt buckle: 230 CFU/sq. in.

6. Bathroom stall locks: 70 CFU/sq. in.

Turns out, the tray table has more germs than the lavatory flush button, which however sounds reasonable as a tray table's top is something that is touched the most on a plane.

PHOTO: TRAVELMATH

"Since this could provide bacteria direct transmission to your mouth, a clear takeaway from this is to eliminate any direct contact your food has with the tray table," Travelmath's report stated.

PHOTO: TRAVELMATH

However, on the positive side, all the samples tested negative for fecal coliforms like E coli, which can make people fatally ill.

This article originally appeared on Mashable

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