This Airline Courtesy Is Actually A Disgusting Germ Factory

After a busy day spent rushing around amidst airport chaos and suffering through various torments like the airport security full-body scanner, it can be ever so lovely to finally find your seat and slump down into it with one of those cozy little courtesy pillows or blankets. But according to industry insiders, these seemingly innocuous airplane perks are the last thing you should be snuggling up to. While it's hardly a rookie flying mistake to accept a courtesy blanket or pillow, there is a decent chance you could risk getting a dose of someone else's germs when you do. 

Speaking to Inside Edition, flight attendant Jamila Hardwick confessed that there's no guarantee the pillow or blanket you'll be handed on your next flight is clean and sanitary, which means that someone else's dreamy drool might be secretly lingering all over it. As Hardwick explained, "These get washed, but we are not so sure how great they are washed. Same for the pillow. They will take the lining off the pillow and give you a new one but you still have the pillow in there that's dirty."

Snuggling up to someone's sleepy slobber pillow may not even be the worst level of in-flight courtesy cooties you risk running into on a flight. In 2018, comedian Nicole Byer recounted an in-flight horror story on "Conan" that's disturbing enough to make even strong-stomached folks internally scream. 

"I was on Delta," Byer said, repeating the airline name three times for emphasis. "And I found a piece of poop in my blanket. Isn't that disgusting?" When a shocked Conan O'Brien responded in disbelief, Byer doubled down about the incident, which allegedly occurred on a flight from Louisiana to Atlanta. Feeling cold on the descent, Byer opened the sealed plastic bag containing the blanket to find a little something extra inside. After dropping it on the floor in confusion, Byer recounted, "The smell hits me and I was like, 'Oh my God!'" 

Perhaps reassuringly, Byer admitted Delta believed the offending pooper to be an aggrieved employee. Even so, unless you plan on traveling with a blacklight, Byer's tale is just another reason to bring your own sleepytime supplies. 

Blanket and pillow hygiene seems to vary based on the airline. Despite Byer's frightful experience, many airline industry employees reporting on Reddit suggest that at least at some airlines, travelers can count on the blankets to be freshly laundered between flights. In fact, many airlines use a catering service for washing reusable linens. Writing on r/Delta, one user explained, "I do airline catering and we have a flight out of SLC for EuroWings and send their stuff to a laundry." While the blankets are probably clean, Hardwick's claim that only the cases get laundered also seems to be true, with flight attendants and caterers confirming this is common practice. 

If living in the post-pandemic era has you feeling a little less willing to take the risk, you're in good company since plenty of travelers would rather forgo the potential germ factory. If you're planning on a long flight and feel like you might want a pillow, there are plenty of highly rated travel-sized pillows made just for air travel. A few Redditors recommend checking out the camping section, where you can find some compact memory foam travel pillows that work well for air travel. As for an in-flight blanket alternative, consider traveling with a pashmina or another type of cozy but highly portable wrap that won't take up much space in your well-packed carry-on bag and can be worn onto the plane.