Air passengers have been urged to avoid removing their socks and shoes on flights, as former airline crew members say the habit is both unhygienic and a safety risk.
According to Natalia Yepes, a former flight attendant and owner of Adventuresque Travel Boutique, aircraft cabins are cleaned quickly between flights, with crews typically focused on clearing visible rubbish rather than disinfecting floors.
With hundreds of travellers moving through a plane each day, she warned that walking barefoot is comparable to going shoeless on public transport.
She said: ‘Think about how many people ride a [public bus]. At each stop, the cleaners only have 10 minutes – sometimes less. They are not focusing on germs, but just on keeping the plane looking aesthetically clean (free of crumbs and big debris).’
The risk is even greater for those who think nothing of quickly popping to the loo without wearing shoes.
Kerwin McKenzie, a travel advisor and former airline employee who regularly cleaned aeroplane toilets while working across 213 airlines, told Travel + Leisure that passengers should never enter bathrooms on commercial aircraft without shoes.
Spilled drinks, splashes and other fluids can end up on the floor, soaking through socks and transferring bacteria to the skin.
Once back in shoes, those germs can easily be carried off the aircraft and ‘brought home’, according to McKenzie.
More thorough cleaning, including vacuuming, is often reserved for overnight stops, meaning cabin floors – including the space under seats – may not be fully sanitised between every journey.
Beyond hygiene, Yepes noted that removing shoes in a confined cabin can make other passengers uncomfortable, particularly if unpleasant odours are present.
But most importantly, she stressed, shoes must be kept on in the event of an emergency.
She said: ‘If there’s an emergency and you suddenly have to evacuate, it’s best to be ready and have your shoes on. I’m completely against going shoeless during a flight, and I’ve never met a crew member who was in favour of it.’
For those prioritising comfort, travel experts recommend choosing practical, easy-to-wear footwear – but keeping it on for the duration of the flight.
Meanwhile, flight attendants have revealed the disgusting spot you should never put your coat on a plane – and it’s highly surprising, because it might be exactly where you usually store your belongings.
The overhead locker is shockingly disgusting – and definitely not where you want to be keeping something you wear.
Another flight attendant, Emilia Ryan, told Reader’s Digest: ‘Those overhead bins can get pretty dirty.
‘Mostly because anything that comes in on the wheels of a suitcase ends up there, along with the occasional exploded bottle of lotion.’
