No matter how much you see friends and family traveling on social media, they most likely get tuckered out during the journey. It’s a no-brainer that traveling requires a lot of energy, especially if you’re going on a long-haul flight. A lot goes into traveling like making sure you arrive at the gate on time, waiting in lines, security assurance, baggage check-ins – the list goes on. However, no matter how drained you feel, you should never resort to the airplane floor to get some shut-eye.
Recently, the Instagram account, Passenger Shaming shared a post of a couple of travelers sleeping on an airplane. At first, it sounds like nothing out of the ordinary, but when you take a glance at the photo, one of the passengers is sleeping on the airplane floor.
Even though there are a million things wrong with this photo, the experienced crew at our aviation school have narrowed down the reasons why it’s not ideal to sleep on airplane floors.
Turn Time Determines Cleanliness
If you have a lot of experience with air travel, this isn’t new to you. The turn time is the allotted time the flight crew must turn over the plane from arrival to departing again. So, for those who enjoy punctual flights to and from major cities, like business travelers, they may be disappointed that these flights are not likely as clean.
Flight Attendants Prioritize Seats, Armchairs, and Folding Trays
Flight attendants focus on the sections that are touched the most by passengers, giving more reason as to why it’s not ideal to sleep on airplane floors.
Light Vacuuming and Monthly Deep-Cleans
According to Taylor Garland, the spokesperson for the Association of Flight Attendants, flight crews rarely vacuum carpets in between flights, [1] which makes sleeping on the airplane floor even more unsanitary.
To even further support the argument about why it’s not ideal to sleep on airplane floors, United Airlines is reported to have a deep-clean every 35 to 55 days, while American only perform theirs every 30 days. [2] Deep cleans involve sanitizing the walls, ceiling, overhead compartments and shampooing the carpet. Unfortunately, passengers usually will never know an airline’s deep-clean schedule!
Sleeping on the Airplane Floor Is Just Simply NOT Safe
When a passenger decides to nest on the airplane floor, they pose a safety risk for themselves and others. In the event of turbulence, the passenger can experience severe injury, especially if they’re not wearing a seatbelt. Therefore, it’s critical to avoid sleeping on the airplane floor at all cost!
If you’d like to learn more about aircraft safety or would like to enroll in our air traffic controller school, don’t hesitate to contact a member of our aviation crew to find out more!
Additional Reading:
Naomi Campbell’s Elaborate Airplane Cleaning Routine
Sources:
[1] The Points Guy – 7 Reasons You Shouldn’t Sleep on the Floor of An Airplane
[2] The Wall Street Journal – The Trouble with Keeping Commercial Flights Clean
