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Consumer watchdog names dirtiest airlines
A Which? Travel survey has named Ryanair as the dirtiest airline serving the UK.
A new study found fewer than half of Ryanair passengers (42%) rated the airline for onboard cleanliness, which the consumer association found to be ‘significantly worse’ than other airlines included in the survey.
A quarter of passengers (24%) added that cleanliness onboard was poor.
Investigators from Which? described ‘greasy tray tables, soiled headrests and dusty window sills’ on a Ryanair flight they had boarded.
When they used an ultraviolet light to assess how clean the tray tables were, it showed up stains that couldn’t be seen by the naked eye, Which? said.
Overall, 81% of passengers rated cleanliness positively across 42 airlines, both budget and full-service. EasyJet and British Airways were both described as having good levels of hygiene.
Around two-thirds (68%) of easyJet passengers rated the cleanliness as good, very good or excellent.
Three in four British Airways passengers (78%) reported being pleased with the airline’s hygiene.
Only six in 10 passengers (62%) found Wizz Air aircraft to be clean, while 63% of passengers flying on Vueling or Iberia described the level of cleanliness to be good. Across Wizz Air and Vueling, one in 10 people rated the cabin cleanliness as ‘poor’.
Long-haul carriers were found to be cleaner, such as Air New Zealand (97%), Singapore Airlines (96%), Emirates (95%), Qatar Airways (95%), Cathay Pacific (94% ) and Swiss (94%).
He advised people to ‘equip yourself with some antibacterial wipes’, adding: "If you are flying Ryanair though, a biohazard suit might be more appropriate."
Which? surveyed almost 8,000 people online for the research.
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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