Ranked: The Dirtiest Surfaces on an Airplane

When we think of in-flight hygiene, sanitizing our hands before digging into a mid-flight snack or wiping down the tray typically pops to mind. The mind rarely wanders to darker corners, like the seat pockets or the air vents above. That might be for the best, as these are the real spaces in an aircraft where germs thrive. From headrests teeming with bacteria to tray tables that can be filthier than toilet flush buttons — no, we’re not making this up — some of the most seemingly harmless surfaces on a flight are hotspots for disease-causing bacteria. 

These high-touch zones go through regular handling by people who (more often than not) use them rather absent-mindedly. In the words of veteran crew member Kelly Skyles: “I think people forget that when they get off that plane, it’s going to turn around and be somebody else’s plane for their flight” (via NBC 5 DFW). But it’s not all down to passengers. Many airplane corners rarely get the deep scrubbing they need from airplane cleaning crews with limited turnaround time between two flights. Some of these bacteria hotspots might come as a surprise — but our compilation of scientific research, expert insights, and cleanliness studies will tell you exactly why they made the list. So hold your breath and delve into this ranking of the dirtiest surfaces on an airplane to know what to wipe down (or completely avoid) on your next flight.

When flying through the high skies in a cold cabin, an airline-provided blanket might seem like a lifesaver. But more often than not, this simple flight courtesy is actually a germ factory that you might be better off avoiding. Despite looking fresh and neatly packaged, some airplane blankets may come with grimy histories and not always be as clean as they appear, a truth confirmed countless times by industry insiders. One particularly disturbing revelation came from a cabin cleaner who told The Guardian: “Sometimes we don’t have a mop, so we use the blankets left on airplanes by passengers to clean the floors.” 

That same blanket — washed, folded, and repackaged — could end up on your lap just hours later. Knowing what you know now, can you snuggle in it as cozily? Of course, it’s not all bad. Former flight attendant Catrina McGrail told AFAR magazine that soft goods like blankets get a thorough rinsing after passenger use: “Used blankets would be taken off the plane and washed on ground after every flight in a boiling hot wash, then placed inside individually sealed plastic bags ready for the next flight.” The key, it seems, is to only accept blankets in sealed packets. Better yet, a blanket or jacket from home would be one of the best things to pack to make your flight more bearable (and hygienic). 

Considering the frequency with which they are used, overhead cabins are a high-touch zone that travelers should be wary of when flying. Think about it: People are hoisting up bags that have been carried and dragged across airport floors, picking up all sorts of germs along the way. And with those same bare hands, they are touching overhead cabins, handles, and possibly other passengers’ luggage. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, and sure enough, it is. 

Dr. Charles Gerba, popularly known as Dr. Germ for his research in the field, confirmed as much in a study that identified the luggage compartment as one of the dirtiest surfaces on a plane (via Vax Before Travel). Since few people grant them a second glance after tucking their bags in, these spaces typically go ignored by cleaning crews between flights and don’t get the TLC they deserve. A good idea to avoid picking up what travelers before you have left behind in the overhead bin — and we’re not talking about their personal possessions — is to properly sanitize your hands after stowing your luggage in and settling into your seat.

The innocent-looking window shades in an airplane are another high-touch zone that flyers should be cautious of. Though taking the window seat can possibly guarantee a safer flying experience — keeping you away from the aisle’s constant foot traffic and reducing your chances of being exposed to diseases, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences — it is not entirely risk-free. 

Along with the fabulous views they offer, airplane windows also harbor germs passed on by countless passengers who have adjusted the shades mid-flight. It doesn’t help that these spaces don’t receive too much attention from airplane cleaning crews. “I’ve never seen the window shades get wiped off ever in my career,” a flight attendant revealed in a 2024 TikTok video. “You think about how many people are touching those and that they never get wiped off. They’re filthy.” So the next time you soak in the views from your window seat, maybe sanitize the shades first or your hands after touching the blind. 

Aisle seats may be great for passengers who need or want more legroom and the convenience of easy toilet access, but they come with a hidden downside. Yes, you guessed it, an increased exposure to germs. It often goes overlooked that every food cart rolling by and every person brushing past is bound to make contact with the aisle seat. Imagine the number of hands — especially those on the way back from the bathroom — that have rested on the heads of aisle seats, and you’ll understand why it’s concerning. 

Research has shown that passengers seated in the aisle are more exposed and likely to contract diseases than those in other seats. According to a 2018 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, aisle seat passengers had an average of 64 close encounters with others per flight. This is a much higher count than for people in middle or window seats, meaning passengers in aisle seats were at a higher risk of contracting nasty infections. Aisle seat passengers also move around a lot more than others (around 80 percent leave their seats at least once during the flight), so you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Some might think it is the best seat choice on the plane, but maybe think twice before snagging an aisle seat next time. 

Airplane seat belts are a strange paradox. They keep you safe from turbulence, yet in a worst-case scenario, they carry germs that could make you quite sick. From the fabric of the strap to its metal buckle, every part of an in-flight seat belt goes through dozens of hands every single day. And since it is virtually impossible to give these innocuous-looking safety features a thorough cleaning between flights, they lie there in all their filthy glory, waiting to be touched by the next passenger. 

While seat belts are definitely not the dirtiest surface inside a plane, a Travelmath study suggested that they certainly aren’t the cleanest, with samples collected across airports and aircraft showing the presence of 230 CFU (the number of viable bacteria in a sample) per square inch. CBC News reiterated this discovery in its own research, finding traces of mold and yeast in samples. While it’s not possible (or advised) to bypass wearing a seatbelt — it’s one of those things flight attendants hate and want passengers to stop doing — there are ways to go around the germs sticking to it. A quick swipe with a disinfectant wipe before buckling up and sanitizing your hands after you’re strapped in is a good place to start. 

Think of the endless hands that have touched the toilet latches inside airplanes before yours, and it would not be tough to understand why they count as some of the filthiest surfaces inside flying vessels. Industry insiders have confirmed as much, with one flight attendant interviewed by Sanctuary Bathrooms warning passengers about touching any surfaces inside airplane toilets. The danger, she said, begins the moment you approach the hot zone, going so far as to “advise using your foot or wearing plastic, disposable gloves to touch the handle” (via The U.S. Sun). 

The devil is always in the details, but (unfortunately) toilet latches rarely make the cut when airplane crews give cabins a once-over between flights. In 2018, CBC News published a widely cited study that found toilet handles to be among the five dirtiest surfaces on an airplane, from which samples of hemolytic bacteria were retrieved. According to one Porter Airlines staff member, in-flight cleaning hardly focuses on deeply disinfecting surfaces, saying: “It definitely was not a huge priority. And when it was a priority, it wasn’t necessarily for cleanliness, it was for an aesthetic purpose.” 

This one hardly needs an explanation. It shouldn’t be a shock to learn that toilet flushes are among the dirtiest surfaces inside an airplane, not least because of the dozens of passengers who come in contact with them on every flight. And given people’s instinct to hit the flush button in the moments between doing their business and washing their hands after, one can safely assume that the majority of fingers touching this surface haven’t been cleaned. Gross, right? It gets worse. 

Unlike other surfaces on an aircraft cabin that are in plain sight and may get a quick wipe-down between flights, the minor details inside airplane lavatories often don’t get a lot of cleaning attention, especially during short-haul flights. According to the study by Travelmath, airplane flush buttons carry 265 CFU per square inch. In simple terms, there are more bacteria on the handle than you would like to imagine. “You could also be breathing in potential faeces particles, circulating the air after a toilet flush,” one former flight attendant told Sanctuary Bathrooms in an interview, advising passengers against touching any surfaces inside toilets with their bare hands (via The U.S. Sun). Using toilet paper to create a barrier between your fingers and a surface teeming with who-knows-what can be a smart workaround. 

One of the most common in-flight safety mistakes passengers make without realizing it is adjusting the air vents above and then not sanitizing their hands after. While turning the knob for the air flow may seem like a harmless action, those overhead vents provide sneaky little spots for germs to gather — and this momentary move could spell trouble real quick. The same Travelmath study that tested multiple surfaces across airplanes concluded that air vents carried 285 CFU per square inch — far more bacteria than was found in and around airplane bathrooms. 

The idea that overhead vents are dirtier than toilets may seem inconceivable, but it makes sense when one considers the volume of hands that have played around with them. And one can best believe that given the sheer number of vents that exist inside a flight cabin, cleaning crews often skip scrubbing down these tiny dials between flights. A good way to preserve your hygiene in this case is to sanitize your fingers after tinkering with the air vent above you. Another is to avoid touching it altogether — a considerably better option by all measures, since experts widely recommend keeping the ventilation on throughout the flight to prevent the possibility of catching infections. As Massachusetts’ Dr. Mark Gendreau told the Daily Mail: “If there is a viral particle coming your way, theoretically it can push that and move it quickly out of your space.” 

Would you ever share a pillow with dozens of people? Probably (and hopefully) not. But on a plane, that’s basically what you do when you recline and use the headrest that countless heads before you have leaned on. Unsurprisingly, headrests come through as some of the most contaminated surfaces on an airplane. In fact, CBC News’ research deemed it the filthiest, with swabbed samples revealing traces of everything from E. coli to hemolytic bacteria, yeast, and mold. 

“If you happen to have this on a headrest, and you’re moving your head back and forth, then there’s a very good likelihood that you could potentially be inhaling this or getting it into close enough contact that it could get into you,” said microbiologist Jason Tetro, who was expressly shocked with the results of the study. For passengers resting their heads on the aisle seats, meanwhile, the risk of catching an infection is naturally even higher. Given that they aren’t hard surfaces and are made of cloth or faux leather — materials that are considerably tougher to clean — headrests are not as deeply scrubbed as frequently as other dirty spots in a plane. So instead of rubbing your head into the layers of grime left behind by flyers before you, it’s best to carry a travel pillow or a disposable cover for your next journey. 

What do diapers, needles, and tobacco have in common? These seemingly unrelated items are among the filth that has been retrieved from the seat back pockets in airplanes, according to research. “I wouldn’t touch that pocket,” Kiril Vaglenov, who led a major study at Auburn University on the persistence of disease-causing organisms on flights, told NBC News. The telltale research notably found that MRSA bacteria — which are known to cause severe, sometimes fatal, infections — could survive up to a week in seatback pockets. “I think that it should be replaced with something less porous,” the researcher said, pointing to the germ-harboring material of these spaces. 

CBC News’ study also identified the presence of E. coli and high mold levels in airplane seat pockets. “We’ve got to try and think how would fecal contamination get inside [the seat pocket],” microbiologist Keith Warriner, who tested the samples, said. It may be hard to imagine the kind of bacteria that live unchecked in these dark spaces, but it makes sense when you consider how casually passengers use the pockets that hang so conveniently in front of them. From trash to personal belongings and scores of unsanitized fingers, everything touches this area. The good news is, it’s totally possible to avoid coming in contact with the seat pockets during a flight. Just keep your hands to yourself, your bags and bottles on your lap, and hand your trash over to the attendants.

The award for dirtiest surface on an airplane goes to a spot all of us frequently use mid-flight — whether to place our meals, rest our gadgets, or even catch a quick snooze. The tray table has, across studies, been crowned the most contaminated spot people make contact with in an aircraft, with results of the kind of filth found on them enough to make stomachs turn. According to research by Travelmath, the fold-down platforms behind airplane seats were found carrying 2,155 CFU per square inch — bacteria digits far higher than any other high-touch zone in an airplane, including toilets. 

A swab test by The Washington Post also found tray tables to have 427,147 RLUs, a high reading on the germ scale. It probably goes without saying, but this discovery paints a particularly unsettling picture, for the simple reason of the proximity of tray tables to our food and hands. The tray’s location and multipurpose use only make matters worse. Attendants have famously admitted to witnessing parents changing their baby’s diapers on the conveniently placed tray tables in front of them. So the next time you (dare to) lower that tray in front of you, maybe give it a thorough wipe-down; your sandwich and stomach will thank you. 

To create this ranking of the dirtiest surfaces on an airplane, Islands analyzed a combination of publicly available cleanliness studies, expert interviews, and airline industry reports. While visible stains and debris inside aircraft cabins are typically wiped down between flights, several credible sources reveal that bacteria and viruses often linger on high-touch surfaces long after passengers have deplaned. 

For this piece, we drew key data from credible investigations by Travelmath, CBC Marketplace, and The Washington Post, as well as research published in journals like Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which feature insights from scientific and medical experts. In cases where hard data was limited or outdated — such as for overhead bins or instruction manuals — surfaces were included based on anecdotes and testimonies given by aviation industry insiders, who have spoken out about how frequently (or infrequently) these spaces are cleaned. 

In addition to sharing their concerns with outlets like NBC and AFAR magazine, many whistleblowers also turned to social media to warn fliers about the risks that surround them the moment they enter an airplane cabin — and we duly included these perspectives, which gained wide popularity with online users. This blend of quantitative data and qualitative insights helped us build a well-rounded, realistic look at the dirtiest touchpoints passengers encounter while flying and what they can do to keep themselves safe.