Most people board a plane thinking they already know everything there is to know about flying comfortably, but a flight attendant with over a decade in the industry is here to suggest otherwise. Known on TikTok as @charityofsunshine, she recently posted a video outlining several practical recommendations that the vast majority of travelers never think to follow. Her tips cover everything from what to wipe down at your seat to what to avoid wearing and eating before you board.
The first piece of advice she offered might be the one most passengers have genuinely never considered. While many travelers will give their tray table a quick wipe with a disinfectant cloth when they sit down, she pointed out that the seatbelt is the item that actually needs the most attention. Every single passenger who has ever sat in that seat has touched both the metal buckle and the strap itself, and spilled drinks, crumbs, and general grime can linger on the belt long after the cabin has been cleared. She urged travelers to make wiping down the entire seatbelt a standard part of their boarding routine.
Her second tip addressed what to wear on a flight. She recommended that passengers opt for long pants rather than shorts, skirts, or dresses, specifically to avoid direct skin contact with the seat fabric. It is a suggestion that tends to get a strong reaction when people hear it for the first time, and for good reason. The amount of deep cleaning aircraft seats receive between flights is far less rigorous than most passengers would hope.
@charityofsunshine These are a few things you should be doing on an airplane when you travel that you probably (and by probably I mean absolutely) should be doing from your flight attendant. I do ALL of these things when I travel in my own time. Shoes, pants, wiping then seatbelt and bringing my own food. All a MUST. Enjoy the travelers and safe flaying. Maybe I’ll see ya up there. #travelhacksandtips #traveltip #flightattendant ♬ Idyllic jazz bossa nova with piano and guitar(1298871) – TAKANORI ONDA
The flight attendant also had some pointed advice about behavior in the airplane lavatory. She said passengers should always flush, wash their hands thoroughly, and use their elbow rather than their hand to push the door open on the way out. Her most emphatic warning on this topic was about footwear. She stressed that no one should ever enter the bathroom barefoot or in socks, noting that whatever liquid passengers might see on the floor is very unlikely to be water.
Her final recommendation concerned food, and it was perhaps the most practical of the bunch. She reminded travelers that they are permitted to bring their own food through airport security, which can save considerable money compared to buying meals or snacks once airside. The one caveat she attached to this tip was a plea for consideration toward fellow passengers: strong-smelling foods like tuna or hard-boiled eggs should be left at home. In an enclosed cabin with recycled air and nowhere to escape, a pungent lunch can quickly become everyone’s problem.
The video resonated widely with viewers on TikTok, many of whom said they already practice some version of these habits. “I love this!! Thanks for sharing!!” wrote one commenter. Others described their own more thorough wiping-down routines. “I also do the window shade and the air vent,” one person noted. Not everyone was impressed, however. A number of commenters directed their frustration not at the passengers but at the airlines themselves. “You know what would be great? If airlines actually cleaned their planes,” one user wrote, drawing considerable agreement in the replies.
The tension between what passengers can control and what airlines are responsible for ran through much of the discussion. For all the individual precautions travelers can take, there is a broader question about how thoroughly commercial aircraft are actually sanitized between flights, and the answer varies considerably depending on the airline, the route, and the turnaround time at the gate.
Aircraft tray tables have been found in studies to carry more bacteria per square inch than the average toilet seat, which goes a long way toward explaining why frequent flyers tend to travel with packets of disinfectant wipes. The air inside a commercial aircraft cabin is actually filtered through HEPA systems that remove around 99.97% of airborne particles, meaning the recycled air is often cleaner than what you breathe in most office buildings, though that does nothing for the surfaces you touch.
Do you have any go-to hygiene habits or travel rituals you swear by on flights? Share them in the comments.
