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Home » Travel » Dirty Aircraft Cabins Undermine Confidence In Airline Safety
Travel

Dirty Aircraft Cabins Undermine Confidence In Airline Safety

Matthew Klint Posted onApril 2, 2024April 2, 2024 28 Comments

I’ve flown several airlines so far this year and have noted a concerning trend: the relatively clean cabins of the pandemic era have given way to dirty aircraft cabins that often look like no one has bothered to clean them. That matters not just for the sake of cleanliness, but because it undermines safety assurances by making us wonder if safety and maintenance corners are being cut as well.

Dirty Aircraft Cabins Suggests Safety Corners Are Being Cut As Well…

Here’s just a sampling from the last several weeks:

1. Crumbs and hair on American Airlines:

a wood surface with a crumb on it

2. Dirt and grime on Delta Air Lines:

a close up of a piece of furniture

3. Trash and dirty tray tables on United Airlines:

a pill pack on a tv

a black rectangular object with a white cover

And while this may simply be evidence of the difficulty of finding staff to clean airplanes in a tight labor market, it also undermines the baseline expectation of attention to detail…and that implicates safety.

Think of it this way: if you cannot do the little things right like clean your planes, why should you be trusted to maintain them?

An airplane cabin that is not clean suggests a disregard for the very basics and that makes me wonder if more critical parts of the aircraft are also ignored, deliberately or simply unintentionally.

It’s time that airlines start taking better care of their cabins…there is simply no excuse for not doing so. As safety concerns come under the spotlight, this becomes all the more important.

Have you noticed that aricraft cabins are dirtier than they were even six months ago? How important is a clean cabin in terms of loyalty to a carrier?

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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28 Comments

  1. MLB Reply
    April 2, 2024 at 10:17 am

    Breeze Airways flies beautiful new A220 aircraft with filthy seats that are apparently never cleaned. It’s disgusting and shows their complete disregard for customers.

    • W Reply
      April 2, 2024 at 11:06 am

      I think Breeze has their airline crew and Airport Agents clean the aircraft when possible. Basically, all Breeze employees are encouraged to assist clean the aircraft during turnarounds when possible.

  2. Stuart Reply
    April 2, 2024 at 10:42 am

    I agree with this. However there is also a propensity in the U.S. for passengers to be truly disgusting on planes. It’s a blend of poor cleaning and complete disrespect by passengers. With that, I have heard stories about the baggage and cargo holds that would really get you worried. One insider told me if you ever saw inside one you would really be worried. Graffiti, discarded cigarettes, trash, urine, and fecal matter is quite common.

    • Joe United Reply
      April 3, 2024 at 1:27 pm

      Stuart, the only part of your comments that are correct are about the graffiti in the cargo pits of the aircraft and I have not seen any graffiti in the cargo pit for over twenty years. My employer finally cracked down on the graffiti because so much of it was racist and misogynistic. I have never seen cigarette butts, feces, or urine in the cargo pits, but occasionally I would find a fast food wrapper or drink container. I worked on the ramp for a major airline in three different cities in the United States for over thirty years. Have a very pleasant day.

  3. Tatty Reply
    April 2, 2024 at 12:14 pm

    Thanks Trump! It’s all your fault!

    • Dee Reply
      April 3, 2024 at 1:49 am

      Daaa NOT talk to Pete B….

  4. Nick Reply
    April 2, 2024 at 12:32 pm

    I’ve found the United planes quite dirty this and last year. And it isn’t just about trash lying around or tray tables that haven’t been cleaned. It seems that they don’t do proper deep cleaning anymore.

    Separately, when I travel, I make sure not to leave any trash around my seat or anything I brought onto the plane (e.g., newspapers etc). Sometimes I just have to shake my head in disbelief when deplaning – I doubt that people would leave their living or dining room in such a mess, but I guess it’s ok when it’s your seat on a plane and someone will clean it (or not) for you.

    • David Reply
      April 2, 2024 at 12:53 pm

      It’s easier, and cheaper, to hand out 5,000 MP miles to anyone who complains.

  5. Maryland Reply
    April 2, 2024 at 1:04 pm

    When retrieving a dropped earring my hand I pulled up a rat’s nest of hair and assorted filth. My guess is this was more than a six month accumulation. They have cleaners or contract cleaners. United should insist they get what they are already paying for. It is an issue of pride in their aircraft.

    Yes people are disgusting but having a clean space to begin with should set the bar for better manners.

  6. Vinod Reply
    April 2, 2024 at 1:43 pm

    You are absolutely right, Matthew. Aircraft cabins on US airlines have become quite filthy. That’s why my family and I love flying SQ at every opportunity,

    • PolishKnight Reply
      April 2, 2024 at 4:56 pm

      In answer to Matt’s question: I don’t think this is a safety issue. In relation to a Scott Kirby statement recently, safety is a priority (whatever that means) and, as always of course, corporate profits but fretting about making sure the cleaners do their job (or are hired) is not a priority so just asking the FA’s to try to clean the cabins with a “once over” between flights is more the norm.

      Nobody ever got a corporate promotion by saying: “Hey, boss, why don’t we spend a little more money to better clean the cabins?”

      Griping about it in the complaint form may help a bit, but they have that down to statistics. If less than 0.1% of people write a formal complaint, then as far as they’re concerned it’s not a problem even if most people feel the same way.

      We make fun of “Karen”, but “Karen” is the force of change in a society (for good or ill) in that the squeaky wheel is the greasiest, as I like to say. I use the feedback form regularly even if only to say thank you to the crew for a nice flight. FF’s such as Matt should be using it after every flight to provide feedback even if only just to say he enjoyed the flight.

      • Maryland Reply
        April 2, 2024 at 6:21 pm

        Polish knight

        If they have people that are already paid to perform a service and that service is lacking, it points to poor management. It is a deficiency that shows nobody cares. If good management is missing in one area, it calls into question what else is overlooked.

        • PolishKnight Reply
          April 2, 2024 at 6:57 pm

          I’m thinking what you’re saying is a bit, well, “security theater” isn’t it? People feel “safe” being patted down and kabuki theater taking off their shoes in that “well, if I’m going through this ritual I must be safe, yes?” The trays are clean so the plane is safe!

          In relation to Kirby’s call for the employees to think about safety: Does some guy who cleans tray tables somehow need to think in terms of “how do I make this plane more safe?” It’s simply not his job and heck, if there’s nobody doing this as a job, such as the FA, perhaps he or she is more worried about keeping their job by going through the actual safety checklist before the flight instead of making sure that the seat pouches don’t have vomit filled barf bags in them.

          That’s the problem when a CEO says “make this a priority” to already hard working employees when they already have other priorities. “Just work smarter AND harder! I’ve got a golf tee time to make!”

          I actually told this to a manager once about the sausage mill and he got upset: “I tell you to work harder for less and somehow you will cut corners?” He was horrified. It’s almost as if… people aren’t not these magical things who can produce infinite amount of work simply because they’re asked to.

          My mechanics office is a huge mess but he’s the best our family has had for two decades. The clean office at another place does meh work and charges more but the office is sure nice and clean.

          Ask the CEO to take a pay cut to pay for more safety AND to make the planes cleaner and see how it goes…

  7. Jerry Reply
    April 2, 2024 at 2:49 pm

    If only we had a large pool of potential labor that could fill unskilled jobs like this for fairly low wages. Oh well… I guess we don’t!

  8. rich Reply
    April 2, 2024 at 2:57 pm

    People just care anymore. As someone else said some people just figure I can dump everything here and someone else has to clean it, like some behave in hotel rooms. A lot of employees don’t care either. Goes back to lack of accountability, and poor parenting.

    On my recent trip to western Europe I mentioned to my wife how well behaved the dogs we encountered on the street were. They were going crazy and barking at people, they were walking alongside the owner, not pulling the person, etc.

    People just don’t give a f*** anymore. Everything is someone else’s problem.

    • Will Reply
      April 3, 2024 at 8:29 pm

      I agree, and it’s everywhere.

  9. Ridonkulaus Reply
    April 2, 2024 at 4:44 pm

    Joe Biden did this! Historical social norms (cleanliness, customer service) are sacrificed on the altar of chaos, political correctness, and division. America 2024. Want more?

    • Dee Reply
      April 3, 2024 at 1:51 am

      Agree!

  10. Tony N. Reply
    April 2, 2024 at 4:59 pm

    Health safety is the word. I also think I caught a respiratory infection staying at a cheap motel with a dirty air vent. Same on an airplane: bring disinfectant hand wipes and an N95 mask (and use these for your health safety). And if you have to use the bathroom, or sitting or at your seat, do use your disinfectant had wipes often and around your seat. There are some nasty germs out there that can make you very sick.

  11. Will Reply
    April 2, 2024 at 6:00 pm

    It make me wonder how often they change the HEPA air filters……

  12. Maryland Reply
    April 2, 2024 at 7:48 pm

    Polish Knight

    No. It all reflects on proper management. This isn’t theater. It is good management. Cleaning is part of maintenance. At this time everyone is scrutinized for doing their job properly. That is what makes teamwork run an airline.

  13. Tmbt Reply
    April 2, 2024 at 10:29 pm

    Most airlines outsource their staff who clean their aircrafts, all while not giving any flight benefits and lackluster pay, which does not help their work ethic.

  14. Dee Reply
    April 3, 2024 at 1:53 am

    I have not really seen any clean plates or jetways in the last year!

  15. Mr. Clean Reply
    April 3, 2024 at 6:43 am

    Cleanliness is not an economical American value anymore. It costs more to hire workers, training, cleaning products, etc. One deep clean once a month is fine. The in between cleaning is a spot check. For those readers in the United States, get used to the bare minimum of Cleanliness.
    As long as people continue to trash everything (and themselves) it will only get worse.

  16. Dave Edwards Reply
    April 3, 2024 at 8:23 am

    The short turnaround times don’t help. The cleaning crew is coming on the planes as soon as FC gets off and starts while only having 10 minutes to finish. They aren’t going to get everything the hogs leave behind so crumbs and trash on the floor will be missed.

    This doesn’t justify the lack of a more thorough cleaning overnight or on longer downtime. As Matt and others stated, it’s a lack of attention, concern and even savings by the airlines not scheduling proper cleanings.

    • Ricport Reply
      April 3, 2024 at 8:38 am

      This.

      WN prides itself on fast turnarounds, and so it’s no surprise their planes are consistently dirty.

  17. Iris Reply
    April 4, 2024 at 4:21 am

    Even on Lufthansa, flew back from Munich last year and smelled like throw up. Discovered there was still undigested throw up food on the floor next to the seat in front of me. Crew was not willing to clean up or gelp me out, threw doen coffee bags. I had to smell that for 9h.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      April 4, 2024 at 9:57 am

      That is disgusting.

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