How to Avoid Illness While Flying

Today we are going to learn all about de-germing your airplane seat to help prevent illness. It is a well known fact airplane seats, tray tables, and bathrooms are germ infested areas which are rarely deep cleaned. So, you can choose to sit there and hope that any germs in your assigned seat don't magically make their way into your body, or you can try to combat illness by disinfecting your seating area. 

In addition to disinfecting my seating area on airplanes, I do the same on trains (long distance, not commuter), cruise cabins, hotel rooms, and restrooms. See bottom of page for links to better understand how to address each of these spaces. 

I take a kit I put together of items to clean around my seating area whenever I travel no matter if I travel by train, ship, or airplane. Because I travel so frequently, I form an assembly line to construct these kits and make as many as I can at one time. They store well and make it so I can grab however many I will need for a trip without having to try to throw one together at the last minute. To assemble these kits, you will first need to gather a few things.

 You will need the following for each kit (one kit for each leg of your journey):

(1) 2 Gallon Resealable Bags

(2) 1 Quart Resealable Bags

(1) 1 Pair Disposable Rubber Gloves

(10) Disinfecting Wipes (I buy a jumbo container of wipes sold in a roll)

1 Disposable Placemats (find them here)

Did you gather all your supplies? Alrighty then, let's start making our kits. 

The first thing you are going to do is count 10 wipes off the roll and separate them at their perforations. Put these inside one of the quart size bags laying them flat. Press out the excess air and seal it tight. Place the sealed baggie of wipes, one pair of gloves, and one of the placemats into the 2 gallon bag. That's it.

I label each kit for each leg of my journey. Then I place the kit for each leg of my journey in a larger bag. By labeling them in advance, I know I have a kit for each Plane, Train, Hotel Room, and Cruise Cabin I will travel in. I use a permanent marker to label each bag. 

Now that you have assembled the kits, how do you use them? 

Step One: Board your flight, find your seat, put your carry on away, stuff that coat in the overhead bin.

Step Two: Slip on the rubber gloves and get out a wipe. Take time to wipe down all the solid surfaces of your seat, changing out for a clean wipe as needed. Pay attention to the buckle of the seatbelt, the armrests, and the surfaces of tray table.** 

I always suggest first starting with the seatbelt and armrests, then while you are seated continue cleaning the surfaces around you. If you have a window seat, be sure to wipe the little handle on the window shade and the area where people tend to lean.

Step 3: Wipe the air nozzle and button area above your head. You will touch these surfaces to adjust the airflow and to turn on and off the reading light, etc. Stuff all the used wipes in the empty quart-sized bag. Use this as a mini trash sack. You should have plenty of wipes left to use to continue to clean up your area as needed.

Step 4: Stuff the 2 gallon bag down in the seatback pocket as a pocket liner.

Disposable Adhesive Placemat

Step 5: Peel the sticky tape protector off the placemat and stick it down on the tray table. Depending on the tray table dimensions, you may need to wrap the edges slightly and use the adhesive on the underside of the tray. You can still close the tray table as needed, just be sure you wiped down the plastic area the tray table fits into on the back of the seat when you are initially wiping everything down.

Step 6: Sit back and enjoy your flight. At the end of your flight just stuff all the used items into the two gallon bag you used as a liner, peel off your placement, and put the entire kit and caboodle into the trash as you leave the plane. You can also seal it all in the two gallon bag and just leave it on your seat for the cleaning crew to throw away. 

Another tip from actor Neil Patrick Harris (https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/neil-patrick-harris-travel-packing-tips) is to use a cotton swab to put antibiotic ointment (such as Neosporin) inside your nostrils BEFORE you board the flight. This is supposed to help cut back on inhaled germs. I can't swear it works, but I will take any help I can to not get sick when I am anticipating my great vacay. 

There ya have it. This is my “cleaning” routine for all flights, domestic and international, whether it is 45 minutes or 20 hours. It really doesn't take that long. Think you will be looked upon oddly? No worries, just offer any lookie-loos a wipe or two. You will make friends and hopefully help them to prevent the spread of ick to others.

Click on the links to learn how to apply your anti-illness protocol to:

• Hotel rooms
• Rental cars
• Cruise ship cabins
• Train seats

**I read wiping down the tray table with disinfecting wipes removes some of the table's fireproof qualities. To that I have to say the odds of catching a virus or other type bug is far greater than the chance of a fire or crash on a plane. Additionally, if the airline builders or the airline themselves were really concerned disinfecting wipes would affect the fire retardant on the tray tables, perhaps they would build a product that could be cleaned without the retardant wearing off or clean the surfaces themselves in between flights with an airline approved cleaner. Until one or the other happens, I am going to continue to use disinfecting wipes on the tray tables.