How to Disinfect Your Space on an Airplane

Here are some tips for cleaning your area of a plane and keeping healthy on a flight. [This article is part of the developing coronavirus coverage, and may be outdated. Go here for the latest on the coronavirus. ] When a video of Naomi Campbell cleaning her airplane seat and wearing a mask and gloves was shared online last year, it made the rounds because her behavior seemed exaggerated.

(“Clean everything you touch,” Ms. Campbell said in the video. ) Major airlines, including Delta Air Lines and American Airlines, say they clean their planes to varying degrees between flights, and that plane cleanliness is a priority. But some travelers, including apparently Ms.

Campbell, prefer the comfort of knowing they’ve also taken measures of their own to sanitize their airplane space. There’s been increased attention on this in recent weeks, with the unsettling spread of the coronavirus around the world. “The airplane and airplane seat is a public space, and we know that germs can live on surfaces for a long time, so it doesn’t hurt to clean it,” said Aaron Milstone, associate hospital epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Here are some tips for cleaning your area of a plane and keeping healthy on a flight.

“Wiping down surfaces on a plane won’t hurt, as long as it doesn’t give you a false sense of security,” Andrew Mehle, associate professor of medical microbiology and immunology at the University of Wisconsin Madison, said, stressing that sanitizing your space on a plane should be done in conjunction with washing hands and following other best practices. Viral particles, the transmission vehicle of the coronavirus, must travel within mucus or saliva, and they must enter through eyes, nose or mouth. While the coronavirus can last on surfaces like tray tables, touch screens, door handles and faucets — one study found that other coronaviruses, like SARS and MERS stay on metal, glass and plastic for up to nine days — a disinfectant on a hard surface, or soap while washing your hands, will kill the virus. However, most people tend to touch their faces more often than they realize.

Doing so after touching a surface where there are droplets from when someone sneezed or coughed can lead to the virus being passed on. So first things first: Wash your hands. “It’s just as important to think about where your hands have been and to wash your hands,” said Dr.