Flight attendant explains why you shouldn't use onboard headphones

We’ve all experienced a nightmare passenger at some point or another, whether they’re starting a drunken fight with the person on the seat next to them or they’re letting their (very loud) kids run riot.

The only way to deal with it is to watch a film or listen to some tunes with the volume turned all the way up.

That said, you might want to think twice if you’re using the complimentary headphones handed out before take-off.

This was the warning given by an anonymous former flight attendant who posted about the issue on the forum site, Quora.

Sergiy Tryapitsyn/Alamy Stock Photo

While they might look brand new, according to the commenter, a majority of the time the headphones have already been used and are repackaged to make them look fresh.

It goes without saying that this is pretty damn gross, and could lead to the spreading of nasty germs and bacteria - an issue that is under the spotlight more than ever before since the coronavirus outbreak.

The former cabin crew member wrote on the forum: "Airlines who provide headphones hardly or even never bother to replace the foamy-like ear parts.

"So please always tear them once you use them just to make sure that they will replace them."

Or you could go one better and bring your own headphones alongside a two-prong airplane jack adaptor (they only cost a few quid on Amazon). Problem solved.

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Same goes for the complimentary blankets and pillows, which are apparently also reused hundreds of times by various passengers.

As was revealed by another flight attendant: "The blankets and pillows get reused over and over again. They just fold em up and put them away for the next flight.

"It depends on how cheap the airline is, but I’ve had my share seeing them refolding the blankets for the passengers on the next flight to use.

"At least they were generous enough to replace the pillow covers and the headrest covers."

Bringing your own pillow/blanket set might seem like a hassle, but it’s a small price to pay to not be essentially sharing a bed with hundreds of strangers.

And while we're on the subject of airline hygiene, a cabin crew member took to their TikTok page (@tommycimato) recently to explain why you should never wear shorts on a flight.

He said: "Don't or try not to wear shorts when you're on an airplane. It's the same thing as the window, you never know how clean it's gonna be, so if you have pants, you're gonna have less germs."

So if you don't want your uncovered skin picking up germs, jeans might be a safer bet.