[ ♪♪ ] [ Charlsie ] This
is Marketplace. Let's talk about filthy flights. More people. More flights. Less time to clean? We reveal the dirtiest surface. It feels really,
really gross. [ Charlsie ] Don't check in
without your Marketplace. [ ♪♪ ] [ Charlsie ] Our bags are
packed and we're on our way. Okay, guys. You ready to hit the air? Let's do this. [ Charlsie ] We're
going on 18 flights. Safe travels.
-Thanks, you too. [ Charlsie ] We're
taking you up, way up, to find out
what's really going down when it comes to cleanliness. [ Radio ] You're in position. [ Charlsie ] Where
are you coming from? Vancouver.
-From Regina. I am coming from Paris. [ Charlsie ] How clean do
you think your plane was? Well, let's put it this way. I used antibiotic wet wipes
to wipe everything down before we took off. [ Charlsie ] When you do fly,
do you ever think about how clean your
airplane is? Yeah, yeah, a lot actually. All the time.
[ Charlsie ] Really? Yes sometimes I reach down into
the pocket and I find crumbs, and I'm like, "Oh, God!" [ ♪♪ ] [ Charlsie ] That's why
we're testing three popular airlines... Air Canada, WestJet, and Porter. Good morning. [ Charlsie ] First
flight of the day. We're rolling! Taking short-haul
flights to nearby cities, Ottawa... [ Charlsie ] ..and Montréal. We made it! And swabbing all the
popular plane spots along the way, to reveal
the dirtiest surface. We're also checking
in on the air, wearing a facemask to see
how much bacteria is on board. Starting with Air Canada. Here we go! It doesn't take long for us
to find some surfaces that don't look so spotless. [ French Announcement
over Intercom ] [ Charlsie ] Next up? WestJet. On one of our
WestJet flights, we meet the pilot. [ ♪♪ ] [ Charlsie ] We're
clear for takeoff! While I fake my
flying skills, my team swabs
some Porter planes. And not all the samples
look so pretty here, either. On each flight, we've
swabbed the seatbelt, tray table,
headrest, seat pocket, washroom handle,
and sampled the air, too. Portable electronic
devices should be set to airplane mode at this time. Thank you. [ Charlsie ] Three
airlines, 18 flights. In total, over 100
samples collected. We're taking them to
Microbiologist Keith Warriner at the University of Guelph. So when we go on an airline,
we definitely make ourselves more susceptible, not
only because there's lack of humidity, or lack of oxygen,
so we're more prone to it. And we can get a whole
range of different bugs. [ Charlsie ] He's testing
for all kinds of bacteria, yeast, and mould. What are the dangers if we find
yeast or mould on a surface or even in the air? So yeast and moulds in
the air are the most dangerous because we breathe them
in, they get into our lungs, they'll start
growing in our lungs, causing kinds of infections. [ Charlsie ] He's also
looking for pathogens. Now, another one we're
looking for is something called E. coli. Now, this indicates
fecal contamination. [ Charlsie ] Fecal? So, fecal contamination,
which nobody would expect on a plane, but --
[ Charlsie ] No. But you'd be surprised
at how far it gets. [ Radio Chatter ] [ Charlsie ] Nothing
would surprise this trio. Stephane, Christina,
and Connor used to work for the big airlines. They say keeping the planes
clean was part of their job, but not a priority. We didn't have much
training when it came to grooming the aircraft. Our safety training
was predominantly on-- [ Charlsie ] Safety.
-Safety and taking care of the
passengers. [ Charlsie ] How big of
a priority was cleaning? You know, it definitely
was not a huge priority, and when it was a priority,
it wasn't necessarily for cleanliness. It was for an aesthetic purpose. It was just, kind of, give
it a nice little facelift. [ Charlsie ] A facelift? So it's a surface cleaning? Yes. [ Charlsie ] As a former
WestJet flight attendant, Stephane says there
just wasn't enough time. When passenger goes off
and they deplane the aircraft, you have, like, five
to maybe ten minutes to clean the aircraft. [ Charlsie ] Whoa, just five to
ten minutes to clean the plane? So from removing
stuff from the seat pocket, to cleaning dirty
diapers on the floor, or glasses on the floor and
cleaning the washroom and emptying the garbage and
then they have to reboard passengers and leave,
so we had no time to like, wash the table or clean
everything perfectly. [ Charlsie ] Given
their experience, what surface do they
think will be the dirtiest? I'll say the seatbelt. I say the
washroom door handle. I'm gonna say tray table. [ Charlsie ] Back in
Guelph, the results are in. Keith. Over 100 samples, 18 flights. What have we got here? Well, I was really amazed
about how much we actually recovered from them. Some of them are more
scary than others. [ Charlsie ] Coming
in at number 5, the seatbelts. What did you find when
it came to the seatbelts? These are nice moulds here. What it really illustrates again
is probably those seatbelts haven't been
washed for some time. So it wasn't so
much finding mould. It's just the levels
we found them at. [ Charlsie ] Hmmm. Number 4 on our list
of germiest spots? Lots of people use the
tray table on their flights. So what did you find when
it came to the tray tables? This is a yeast and mould. These are the
yellow moulds here. So mould's fairly predominant
and I guess that's another sign that they haven't really
been sanitized adequately. [ Charlsie ] So mould on tray
tables where people are eating. That's true. That's the least of it. So that's the good news. The bad news is this is
what we call blood agar. This grows pathogens
and hemolytic bacteria, and we can see some
hemolytic bacteria here. So those white ones
could be streptococcus. So, you know that sort
of bug that gives you sore throats sometimes
and things like that. [ Charlsie ]
Former Porter employee, Connor, is not surprised. People look at a tray table
as something that we eat and drink off of on our flight
from one destination to another, and a brand new mom is looking
at it as a changing table. It's whatever's easiest
and convenient when you're thousands of
feet up in the air. [ ♪♪ ] [ Charlsie ] Time to share our
results with travellers. Whoa. What is that called? [ Charlsie ] This is staph. Oooh. [ Charlsie ] Look at
your eyes, whoa! And do you know
where we found that? Where?
[ Charlsie ] On a tray table. Oh, my goodness. How have I not gotten sick? [ Charlsie ] This is staph. Okay. [ Charlsie ] We found
that on a tray table. Sick. Well, I won't be
sleeping on those anymore. [ ♪♪ ] [ Charlsie ] To get
a reality check, meet Jason Tetro,
microbiologist and germ expert. Oh, wow. [ Charlsie ] This is staph. Yeah, that to me suggests
that maybe that tray table probably could
have used a cleaning. [ Charlsie ] Jason says if
you're a healthy traveller, the risk is low. Finding pathogens
on a plane, though, that's a problem. You've compared airlines
to ER waiting rooms. Give me that
explanation, please. So, if you walk
into an emergency room, you're in a very
small confined space, all right? With a number of
people you don't know. [ Charlsie ] Right.
-And you're going to be forced to sit down beside
one, two, six people you don't know, and
potentially could be sick. [ Charlsie ] Back at the lab,
it's time for more results. Number 3? The washroom handle. I know washrooms are maybe
always not the cleanest place, but what did you find when it
came to the washroom handles? So, this is where the
real nightmare started-- [ Charlsie ] Oh, no.
--Because, as you rightly said, we expect
washrooms to be fairly contaminated after all. But what's surprising is
the number of E. coli positive samples. [ Charlsie ] E. coli positive? Yes, so E. coli,
the fecal indicator. So what we found is
fairly high frequency of these pathogen indicators. And also numbers. So it was, as they say, the germ
hotspot on the airline itself, or on the airplane. [ Charlsie ] Washrooms
might be the germ hotspot, but that's not the runner-up
for dirtiest surface on a plane. That's the seat pocket! I think what was more
interesting than just finding high bacterial counts, we
also found E. coli there. Yeah, so we've got
to try and think, how would fecal
contamination get inside? [ Charlsie ] Our
insiders dish the dirty truth. [ All ] Diapers! [ Charlsie ] Diapers?
-Diapers. Yeah, everything
goes in there. Everything from the
paper-thin vomit bags to used wrappers to--
I don't want to gross people out at home
but I was saying, I found used tampons
in a seat pocket before. [ Charlsie ] Sorry,
used tampons? Used tampons. [ Charlsie ] And you said?
-Condoms. [ Charlsie ] In the seat pocket? In the seat pocket. [ ♪♪ ] [ Charlsie ] What do you
think the dirtiest surface was? Oh, don't tell me. Blow my mind! [ Charlsie ] And,
what's in the air? I always say that diseases
are one aircraft away. [ Charlsie ] Filthy
Flights continues. Get more Marketplace. Sign up for our
weekly newsletter at cbc.ca/marketplace. [ ♪♪ ] [ Charlsie ] This
is your Marketplace. We're investigating how
filthy flights really are. [ ♪♪ ] [ Charlsie ] Our results
show pathogens and bacteria that could make you sick. Now, we're about to reveal
the dirtiest surface of all. Dirtiest surface,
what do you think? Seatbelt. Yeah, because, I mean
everybody touches that. Tray table. I think it would
be the washroom. [ Charlsie ] Do you know
what the dirtiest surface was? Okay, blow my mind! [ Charlsie ] So, Keith, what
was the filthiest surface? So, the filthiest surface
in terms of total counts was the headrest. [ Charlsie ] Really? Yup, the headrest is
the dirtiest surface! How dirty were the headrests? I was surprised at the
level of contamination, in terms of the actual counts,
but also we found E. coli, hemolytic, Staphylococcus. [ Charlsie ] On a headrest? Yeah, on a simple headrest,
and you wouldn't think, well, it's in the head,
it's not going to do anything, but in actual fact,
it can give you conditions such as dermatitis. It can give you dandruff,
and that's not even thinking about lice and other
things like that. [ Charlsie ] So, would you be
surprised if I told you that it was actually the headrest? Oh, I didn't even
think about that. Wow! Well, I'm going to have
to take a shower when I get home, then. [ Charlsie ] Even germ
expert Jason Tetro is surprised. [ Charlsie ] The headrest was
our most contaminated surface. I was shocked. Honestly, I travel
so much on planes, and even I, the
germ guy, went, "Ew." [ Charlsie ] Yeah. And the reason is not
because of the numbers. I'm always going to expect
to see a lot of numbers. But it was the
yeast and the mould, and how the headrest is such
an important part of our trip. [ Charlsie ] Every
airline that we tested, we did see examples
of yeast and mould. Give me some insight. What's your take on that? It is troubling when you see
it on something like a headrest. It isn't so troubling when
you see it everywhere else. What you hopefully are not going
to have a problem with is coming into contact with that yeast
and that mould in areas where it could potentially
cause infection, like your head,
and unfortunately, as we saw in this study,
there were quite a few yeast and mould on the headrests.
[ Charlsie ] Right. [ ♪♪ ] [ Charlsie ] Time to go
beyond the surface now, and check out air quality. Remember, our team wore medical
masks onboard 18 flights, for 30 minutes each. To test the difference, we wore
masks in the office, too. Turns out, nothing to worry
about in our office samples. But wait until you hear
what shows up on the planes Let's talk about the air. Our team wore those masks,
we brought them in, and I am very interested to see
what you found floating around in those planes. Well, we found
the hemolytic one. That's the most serious,
because when you breathe it in, that's where they start
colonizing the lungs and get straight into the blood system. [ Charlsie ] So, how worried
should people be about the air that they're breathing
in when they're flying? Well, the air is
very significant. Simple fact, we blow
it into our lungs, and that's where
things can get a hold, and so we have to try and
protect ourselves somehow, because it's obviously
the plane system. What they've got in there at the
moment on certain planes isn't efficient at removing that
contamination from the air. [ Charlsie ] Time to clear
the air with travellers. We also tested the air,
found yeast and mould, so you could be
breathing that stuff in. That doesn't surprise me. No wonder people are sick
when they get off of there, or days later. It feels really,
really gross. I think you almost just kind of
accept the conditions for what they are, but you definitely
want it to be cleaner. [ Charlsie ] What do
you think about that? Not good. [ Charlsie ] Not good. But Tetro says the
pathogens aren't the concern. It's the cramped environment. So the air itself is
not really the issue. It's the fact that when you are
in there in that tube with all these people who are shedding,
that there is going to be a contaminated air source. [ Charlsie ] Right. [ ♪♪ ] [ Radio Chatter ] [ Charlsie ] So, we found
the hemolytic bacteria. We found yeast and mould. As people who have
been on airplanes a lot, what's going through
your mind, Connor? You know, I always
assume that the air quality was going to be poor. Flying, you're in a tube high
in the air with so many people. Yeah, I'm not surprised. I was getting lots of colds,
sinus infections, bronchitis. I was always sick. Any time, you know,
there's any kind of contained environment where you
have lots and lots of people, there's bound to be
germs circulating. I always say that diseases
are one aircraft away. [ Charlsie ] Our
test isn't over yet. Just wait until you see what
you could be cuddling up to. Ew! I wonder how many flights
this poor blanket has had. [ ♪♪ ] [ Charlsie ] Got a story
you want us to investigate? Write to us,
marketplace@ cbc.ca. [ Charlsie ] This
is your Marketplace. [ ♪♪ ] [ Charlsie ] Three airlines. 18 flights. Over 100 samples tested. We found everything from
staph, yeast and mould, even E. coli on plane surfaces! Our final test? Those blankets. Blankets, we picked up a few. What did you find with those? Well, two stories. One blanket, not even a stain.
[ Charlsie ] That's good news! A small win for Air Canada. But the WestJet blanket? Now, the other
blanket, though, was a bit more worrying. We found moulds there,
and a high total count. [ Charlsie ] Wow.
-And what was worrying was this was in a
cellophane wrapper. [ Charlsie ] Packaged as
new, but the results reveal a different story. Okay, hit the lights. I'm kind of--
I'm nervous. When we check it out
under a black light? Yeah, you see that? So, you can see it's
almost like an imprint, just of something... [ Charlsie ] Oh, my gosh!
-Oh, yeah. The outline of it. [ Charlsie ] See,
it looks like a smear. Ew, ew! But you wouldn't expect
this from a, um-- [ Charlsie ] Sealed blanket! -Sealed blanket.
[ Charlsie ] Oh, my gosh! I wonder how me flights
this poor blanket has had. Isn't it? [ Radio Chatter ] [ Charlsie ] Our industry
insiders aren't surprised. They say reusing
products on a plane? More common than you'd think. What do you guys do
with the pillows? Do those ever get cleaned? We just put them
back in the overhead bin. [ Charlsie ] Back
in the overhead bin. Back in the
overhead bin. Blankets going down south,
coming back the same day with the same blankets,
and on the way back, new passengers were using other
passengers' blankets or pillows. [ Charlsie ] Not
washing them at all? No, because you
have no grooming there. No, it's a matter of
reusing products to save costs. [ Charlsie ] Reusing them? Yeah. [ Charlsie ] And as for
that blanket we tested? WestJet says its investigating
because they say all the blankets sold on their flights
are new and not previously used. One of them that was
sealed in plastic, again, bacteria, yeast, mould. And we looked at it
under a black light. Smears all over it.
[ Laughter ] One would assume
that, if it were sealed, that they had cleaned
it, but obviously not. Oh, that's sad. See, they're sealed. They should be,
like, steamed and - [ Charlsie ] Clean?
-Germ free. [ Charlsie ] And you
might be wondering about Porter's blankets. Well, we couldn't test them
because they don't have any. What do you think
airlines could be doing? Well, after every flight,
they really should have someone go in there and
disinfecting everything. [ Charlsie ] Yeah. Not just the things you see. [ Charlsie ] We asked all three
airlines to come on camera. They decline. All of them tell us they follow
Canadian and International grooming rules. Air Canada also sent us a study,
funded in part by Boeing, you know, the world's
largest airplane manufacturer, a study they say proves,
yes, airplanes are dirty, but no more dirty than
any other public space. [ ♪♪ ] [ Charlsie ] WestJet says
they're concerned but they tell us they do their
best given that planes are public spaces, and add they
clean their planes daily. And Porter says they're
confident about their efforts to keep you and
their staff safe. [ Radio Chatter ] [ Charlsie ] But these insiders
say, keep yourself safe. I always recommend that
passengers take matters into their own hands,
and responsibility, and protect themselves
when travelling domestically, internationally. So when I board the aircraft,
I bring antibacterial wipes. I wipe down the screen. I wipe down the tray table. I wipe down the arm rest,
any video equipment that I'll touch. I always clean the table. I always clean my seat belt. I clean the armrest
when I got on the plane, because I know it's dirty. I know it's not clean. [ ♪♪ ] [ Charlsie ] Time to
give some travellers a small solution
Marketplace style. We got some Marketplace
wipes for you to take with you. Oh, my God!
Thank you so much [ Charlsie ] So, since
you're in the air all the time, just use a couple of
those on those things you're touching, and-- That's beautiful. Wow. Like, I really need those wipes. [ Charlsie ] You do
need those wipes! They're here, buddy.
We got 'em, okay? Say thank you.
-Thank you! Thank you. [ Charlsie ] Do you
know what these are? Killing germ wipes. [ Charlsie ] So wipe
down all those surfaces before you sit down. Okay, I'll make sure of that. [ ♪♪ ] [ Charlsie ]
Popular blood tests. Science or scam? You can do harm by ordering
these tests and having your children remove these
foods from their diet. [ Charlsie ] Blood, sweat
and tears for Marketplace. [ Makda ] And... Domestic abusers, they always
can figure out new advanced ways to cause harm. [ Makda ] High-tech
home invasion. When you go back
to those nights, what was the worst of it like? It's almost as if
the house is haunted. If anybody would walk
into the situation, they would think they were
walking into a horror movie. [ ♪♪ ]
What else would you expect from a tube full of demons?
TL;DW Top 5 dirtiest spots on a plane: 5. Seat Belt 4. Tray Table 3. Bathroom door handle 2. Seat Pocket 1. Head rest
The air is dirty so it doesn’t hurt to bring a face mask. Also blankets are nasty.