Air travel will make you sick: report

By

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – We know the airline industry has more than its fair share of challenges, and you don’t have to look any further than the tray table in front of you!

A new report in Maclean’s magazine has some sobering statistics when it comes to airline cleanliness, or the lack thereof.

For example, 60 per cent of tray tables are less sanitary than the seats on a New York City subway train. So, it’s no wonder another study showed one in five Canadian travellers are at least five times more likely to come down with a cold after taking a long flight.

Senior Writer Chris Sorensen says as carriers want to keep their planes in the air as much as possible, some things are going to fall by the wayside.

“They’re not spending a lot of time between those flights in cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming, cleaning out seat pockets,” he explains.

“Ideally, if you’re a low-cost airline, you don’t want to be sitting there anymore than half an hour. Even if you can get it down to 20 minutes before you can get everyone off, straighten up the cabin, turn around, and get it back in the air… you can maybe even squeeze in one more flight on that route that day.”

Sorensen’s piece in this week’s Maclean’s argues the issue is part of the greater problem of airlines struggling with an unsure global economy and sky-high energy costs.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today