Plane experts warn of free item because of flight attendant shortcut

A free item designed to offer comfort and protection may actually be harbouring filth.

If you've ever been on a medium or long‑haul flight, then there's a good chance that you've encountered the plane blanket. Typically, they are waiting for passengers' seats when they arrive, and are designed to make the difficult feat of falling asleep on a plane a little easier.

The etiquette around the blankets is not particularly clear, however. You could be forgiven for thinking it's a gift and that you're entitled to disembark the plane with a new soft accessory. In reality, the airlines don't want you to pocket the blankets as they're reused and repackaged, ready for the next customer.

According to Busbud CEO, LP Maurice, who has worked alongside industrial laundry managers, the blankets are not kept in as spotless a condition as one might hope.

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“On a typical long‑haul turn, the linen carts roll straight off the aircraft and go to a contractor that washes at 60 °C–90 °C with peroxide, dries on high heat, and shrink‑wraps each blanket or pillowcase. When you see a tight plastic envelope on your seat, it usually means that the item came off a wash line earlier that day," he told Fodors.

“However, if the preceding flight landed late and the aircraft is turning in 25 minutes, crews will keep any blanket that looks unused. They fold it, place it back on the seat, and hope the next traveler does not notice. I know a line manager who admitted that in one busy hub, only about 20 % of economy blankets hit the wash on an average day; the rest were refolded unless visibly stained.”

If you thought that a blanket sealed in a plastic bag is a sure‑fire sign that it's clean, then think again. Altezza Travel advisor, Georgia Fowkes, once opened such a packet to discover some horrors inside.

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“On one flight, I opened a ‘sealed’ blanket and found long hairs tucked inside the folds. Then I discovered foundation stains and a faint shampoo smell that was definitely not mine on the pillow," she said.

Over the years, many squeamish flyers have claimed that they've discovered blankets that are far less clean than you'd hope, with one unhappy customer even unearthing what appeared to be human feces.

According to Wayne, an ex‑flight attendant who spent nearly a decade of his career with Emirates, airlines go to great lengths to ensure that planes and the objects in them are spic and span when the passengers board.