It’s not the toilet, not the seatbelt – the dirtiest spot on a plane is…

▲Airplane trays are the dirtiest spots on planes (Image/Dazi/illustration)

By Rita

Travelers can hardly contain their excitement, and many meticulous flyers, once aboard, are so busy taking photos that they often forget the bustling cabin isn’t as clean as they imagine. So where is the dirtiest place on a plane? Would you believe it if we told you it’s not the toilet, not the seatbelt, and not even the air vent?

According to the UK's Daily Mail,scientists have pointed outthat the tray table in front of your seat is the least hygienic place on the plane.It harbors far more bacteria than the toilet flush button or the seatbelt buckle; and the dirtiest spot in the airport? Drumroll, please… it’s the water fountain button.

To answer the question of “where is the dirtiest spot on an airplane,” microbiologists took samples from 26 locations across 5 airports and 4 airplanes, which were then tested in a lab. Here are some of the data revealed in the report:

Units: CFU (colony-forming units – higher values mean more bacteria) / sr in. (square inches)
 

On the plane:
1. Toilet flush button (265 CFU / sr in)
2. Tray table (2155 CFU / sr in)
3. Seatbelt buckle (230 CFU / sr in)
4. Air vent (285 CFU / sr in)

At the airport:
1. Toilet lock (70 CFU / sr in)
2. Water fountain button (1240 CFU / sr in)

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