15 Horrific Secrets Airlines Want You To Ignore

Updated on July 27, 2022 12:50 PM by Laura Mendes

"We are now free to depart. Please take your seats, cabin crew. According to statistics, flying is the safest mode of transportation. However, do they really? Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes while awkwardly strapped into your 14D seat?

Yes, the airlines would like us to think that they are taking good care of us and trying to make our time on board as enjoyable as possible. They are concealing so much information from us, though.

The well-oiled machine of the airline industry has a lot to offer, including questionable sanitation and phony safety precautions, as well as dead bodies on board.

You have a choice between continuing to live (and fly!) in blissful forgetfulness or learning what actually to anticipate the next time you book a flight.

We have compiled a list of 15 grubby little (and not so little!) secrets that airlines don't want their customers to know for the truth-seekers among you.

Electronics should be turned off so you can listen to safety instructions. It's done

The crew will tell you to turn off your electronic gadgets as the aircraft prepares to take off. As the responsible traveler, you ensure your phone is in airplane mode since you think there is no danger of crashing the plane as long as you are not using mobile data or wi-fi.

However, the line between the pilot and air traffic control is unaffected by shutting off your phone or laptop.

The crew would prefer you turn them off so you can concentrate on the safety instructions.

But only that. In fact, statistics reveal that half of the travelers leave their phones on because they either disregard the warnings or just forget about them when putting them in their bags.

Overbooking Scam

Airlines routinely and purposefully overbook flights in an effort to increase their profit margins and keep ticket costs low. They aren't profitable until they are operating at 75 percent of capacity.

They cannot make any money if the passengers are not crammed in like sardines into a box. They are hoping that some travelers who have made travel arrangements will be late for the airport or get held up at security.

The likelihood that someone else has purchased your seat is rather high! The cabin staff will ask one passenger to volunteer to be placed on another aircraft or be reimbursed four times the ticket cost if two people accidentally reserve the same seat. However, the airlines are still making money in this situation.

However, there are times when passengers refuse to exit the aircraft, and in those cases, airlines are ALLOWED to use draconian measures. You work out precisely what! The problem is that you formally agree to the airline's terms and conditions every time you travel, so it isn't much you can do if they decide to eject you from the aircraft.

Your aircraft may missing some screws

You might notice your plane's wing missing screws when you glance out the window. Should you start to freak out? None yet! Some aircraft have continued to fly for five days despite having up to 30 screws missing from their wings.

Missing screws are not all that unusual. A large portion of a plane is disassembled during thorough repair, along with two million bolts and screws! Many of those end up getting lost or misplaced during careless employees' reassembling the plane—still no cause for concern. There are often enough to keep the significant equipment in the air.

Most airlines hardly ever wash the pillows and blankets

Putting individuals in close quarters has never been a smart idea from a sanitary or disease prevention perspective. You'd better not use the airline-provided blanket to shield your face if your neighbor is coughing.

Some airlines wash them every five days, while others don't give a damn if they need to be cleaned. Thus, when you snuggle warmly within your blanket on a lengthy flight, you essentially share the bodily fluids and pathogens of the passengers who used it before you.

Let's not even begin to talk about the pillows! People fart, sneeze, and cough on their pillows. The next passenger receives them after that.

They only have enough extra fuel for 45 minutes

The FAA mandates that airplanes have only 45 minutes extra fuel before takeoff. Thus they don't always fill the tank. These regulations primarily concern the plane's emergency landing capability at any nearby airport (or even on a highway!).

However, there are situations when a far longer detour is necessary than the requisite 45 minutes, which can be problematic. Human error led to the 2016 plane disaster in Colombia that killed 20 journalists and the majority of a Brazilian soccer team.

According to the investigation, the pilot failed to refuel en route and to notify engine difficulties brought on by a gasoline shortage until it was too late, leading to the charter's crash on a forested slope close to Medellin. As a result, only six people survived the terrible collision, leaving 71 people dead. There are just 12 minutes of air in the oxygen masks.

You are told to "breathe normally and note that oxygen is blowing, so don't worry if the masks are not fully inflated," and that "in case of emergency, the oxygen masks will fall from the ceiling." You are very wrong if you think you will have an endless supply of oxygen if something DOES happen.

The tanks holding the masks have only a 12 to 15-minute supply! Additionally, the gas that emerges isn't the first oxygen. They fill the oxygen tanks with a chemical mixture that contains barium peroxide, an inorganic substance used in pyrotechnics because oxygen tanks are pretty explosive. Therefore, when the masks come off, the peroxide is the first thing you breathe in before the oxygen saves your life. 12 to 15 minutes, roughly! After that, you are left alone.

The tap water can include feces, and the toilets are filthy

The maintenance crew frequently sanitizes and cleans the water tanks. However, this has no impact on the parasites in the tank. Since they have developed a resistance to the chemicals, they simply remain there and carry on with their tranquil existence, sanitizers or not.

You should also be grateful to us for the following advice: Under no circumstances should you consume tap water while flying. What we're trying to imply is that your water may include feces! Avoid even touching it! The ports for removing waste and refueling the airplane with portable water are only a few feet apart, and it's possible that the same person services both of them.

Your under-seat life vest might not be there

This product is designed to save your life in an emergency. However, you have no idea how many of those are taken by travelers. Before every flight, the crew does not care to make sure that the life jacket supply is adequate.

Therefore, it is possible that when you reach for the priceless thing hiding under your seat, you discover it has vanished. Just so you know, when US Airways Flight 1549 crashed in the Hudson River in 2009, just 33 out of 150 passengers were wearing life jackets.

2015 saw a Hong Kong Magistrates Court convict a Chinese woman, 64, of stealing a life jacket from an aircraft. A $2,000 fine was imposed.

More than half of pilots have fallen asleep at the wheel

Pilot weariness poses a three times greater threat to flight safety than any other, which is an indisputable truth that has been demonstrated in practical settings.

In a 2015 BALPA poll, 56% of pilots admitted to dozing off during a flight, and another 29% claimed to have awakened to find the co-pilot dozing off as well! Fortunately, there is an autopilot that can successfully perform the pilot's duties for a limited period of time.

On lengthy night flights, the pilots alternately take a fifteen-minute nap to help them wake up. While completely lawful in Europe, this method is prohibited for American pilots. Even controlled naps during flights are advised for pilots in the United Kingdom.

To block the sun, pilots frequently cover the windshield with paper

The cockpit appears to be a mysterious, closed-off "temple," where everything that occurs is said to be done for your safety. Though many cockpit actions are kept secret from the passengers and never aired, there are some excellent reasons for this.

One reason is that the behavior of the pilots might greatly surprise you. You would see a hilarious thing if you could only visit the cockpit on a westward journey in the late afternoon.

Pilots cover the windshield with whatever is available to them in order to screen the sun, including papers, maps, and even trays. They may also get blinded by thick fogs or other environmental conditions.

Fortunately, TCAS, or the Traffic Collision Avoidance System, allows pilots to detect objects on the radar screen more clearly and farther away than they could with the human eye.

Nearly every commercial flight carries a body

Please don't panic, but we are talking about actual bodies. The organization of the Red Cross may also be transporting exotic animals and organs for transplant. You can't possibly think that these objects travel on their own or in a mode of transportation that has been particularly designed! But don't worry.

On a night trip, there is absolutely no danger that the aircraft will be haunted or that a zombie'll attack you. The corpses are embalmed before they are transported aboard. The majority of human remains are transported in shipping caskets, which are substantially lighter than those used for funerals in the cargo hold.

Pilots Prefer Difficult Landings to Display Their Skills

It may surprise you that some pilots PREFER a difficult landing once in a while because it gives them the chance to showcase their abilities. A poll of expert pilots revealed that Gibraltar, Naples, and Madeira are the most often chosen landing locations. Why? Certainly not due to the picturesque surroundings.

These three airports are regarded as having the most difficult landings in Europe. Hence pilots must undergo special training before landing there. So, if you encounter the pilot while flying to one of these three locations by chance, thank them for a safe landing.

A life jacket cannot save your life

There is some psychological comfort in knowing there is a life jacket under your seat, but that's all. Experts dispute their value when passengers need to hastily leave. To begin with, life jackets must be correctly fastened to be effective; let's face it, even frequent flyers don't bother to learn how to do so.

Second, you might believe that the life jackets will save your life if the plane crashes into the ocean. However, as this has never occurred while travelling on a contemporary commercial airline, no one genuinely knows if it is conceivable. Another issue is that the design of the jackets severely restricts their utility during crash landings.

Because they are only paid when the plane's doors are closed, the cabin crew keeps you on board longer than is necessary

Have you ever questioned why an airplane's doors close so quickly? Actually, the cabin crew may retain you up to three hours before takeoff, per FAA rules and regulations. However, there is one reason they will close the doors well before the scheduled hour.

The flight's duration, which begins when the plane's doors close and ends when they open, is the only time the flight attendants are paid. Now that you know they don't get paid, you can see how financially crucial it is to them to have you on board for as long as possible.

The lodging is filthy

The isolated oxygen chamber that Michal Jackson used to sleep in to avoid all the dirt and germs cannot, of course, be utilized for transportation. However, there is a chance that you won't pick up a lot of other people's DNA when flying if you keep in mind a few easy suggestions.

Before the flight attendants put your food and drinks on the foldable table in front of you, cleaning it's usually a good idea. You won't believe how frequently parents change their babies' diapers on tables! After that, taking off your shoes is not advised.

We know that stretching your bare feet can be therapeutic after a long travel. However, you should remember that the flooring is unclean. There must have been a vomit right around where you are seated.