I’m a flight attendant and this is why you should never use the seat pockets

A FLIGHT attendant has revealed why you should never use the seat pockets on a plane – and it’s pretty disgusting.

Cabin crew warn that they often find gross items in them which include knickers and toenails.

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The cabin crew employee, who goes by the name HausOfDarling on Reddit, said they had seen everything under the sun squeezed into those pockets.

They said: “Never, ever, ever use or put anything in the seat pocket. They are cleared of rubbish but are never ‘cleaned’.”

They continued: “I have pulled out and seen all sorts been pulled out from there.

“Dirty tissues, sick bags, knickers, socks, finger and toenails, gum, half sucked sweets, apple cores, peoples feet…

“I’ve never found a severed foot but people seem to curl up into a foetal position by putting their feet in the seat pocket.

“And then next flight you go and put your phone/laptop/iPad in there.”

So the key is to avoid sticking anything inside the back seat pocket, and maybe avoid flicking through the inflight magazine stored in there too.

On top of that, the flight attendant also recommends bringing antibacterial wipes and hand sanitiser to clean the general area around your seat.

They said: “If you’re flying short haul, definitely bring antibac wipes or sanitiser.

“A lot of airlines will have the crew ‘turnaround’ the plane, meaning they pick up your rubbish, fold your seatbelt over, file your magazines in the seat pocket and then welcome new passengers.

“I have lost count of the amount of times I have had to tell people how disgusting it is to change their baby on the tray table or in a seat.”

You should also never lean on the plane window if you want to sleep during the flight, as it is one of the dirtiest parts of the plane.

Sun Online Travel also revealed some grim truths about eating on planes – from dirty hot water tanks that make your coffee to three-day-old food.

The airport is equally grubby too – a study has shown that self-service check-in machines have 1,000 times more bacteria on than your typical loo seat.

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