Even before coronavirus started to spread, it was a known fact that planes can have a lot of germs on them - germs can get you when you are the first on a plane, when you turn on the fan above your seat, and even when you sleep. Now, it turns out that a common place to store things in-flight should be avoided, and it is one you would never think to wipe down when you clean your off your seat. It's the seat-back pocket.
You might be disturbed to learn that that place where you put your water bottle, your book or your laptop is likely one of the dirtiest places on the plane. Flight attendants revealed the upsetting news in a Reddit thread. They explained that after a flight, a plane has to be turned over quickly. Following shorter flights, this means only a quick wipe down is done, if that, which is distressing in itself, but even after longer flights when a more thorough cleaning happens, one place that is always overlooked is the seat-back pocket.
Apparently, the only thing that they do with the pocket is remove trash - it's never disinfected. This means that if the person who sat in the seat before you put dirty tissues or a used handkerchief in there, all those germs are still sitting there waiting for a new host. So if you put an iPad in there, it might just have those germs on it when you remove it.
One flight attendant even said she's seen passengers put their feet in the pocket.
Your best bet is to just leave your items on areas you've wiped down or keep them in your bag.
Photo: Getty Images