Four things dirtier then the toilet in commercial airliners.

It is common knowledge that commercial airliners can be quite unhygienic. 150-300 passengers in a confined environment, minimal downtime between flights, it is no surprise.

But what we found from this report is that the toilet isn’t the dirtiest location on a commercial airliner.

Here are four things dirtier than an airliner’s toilet.

1) Seat Belt Buckles

You wont be able to avoid touching the seat belt buckle. While they CAN be cleaner than a toilet it is one of the items in constant hand contact with passengers.

2) Aisle Seat Headrests

Hard to believe at first, it now makes sense why the headrest on aisle seats can be quite unhygienic. Most passengers use the aisle seat to balance as they walk down the narrow path to their seat.

3) Overhead vents

An object in constant contact with passengers but perhaps overlooked when it comes to cleaning. Overhead vents had a total of 285 colony forming units (CFU) per square inch.

4) Seat Back Trays

Now this is disgusting.

It was found that the seat back tray was the dirtiest place onboard a commercial airliner. With a CFU reading of 8x the toilet flush button (2,155 CFU), it may be wise to bring along some sanitising wipes if germs aren’t your ‘thing’.

Although flying may seem romantic and exciting, it is very much to be considered a ‘public place’.

Sanitise regularly, especially on long flights.