Health & hygiene onboard

Hand hygiene is one of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce the spread of illness in a shared space like an aircraft cabin. Washing hands with soap and water, or using hand sanitizer when water isn't available, is routine practice before and after assisting any passenger.

Gloves are worn whenever there is contact with bodily fluids — blood, vomit, or other secretions — to protect both the crew member and the next person they interact with, and are changed between different tasks rather than reused.

Cabin cleanliness during a flight includes promptly addressing spills or contamination using approved cleaning materials, rather than improvised methods, and disposing of soiled items in designated waste according to the airline's procedure.

Handling contaminated materials — used tissues, soiled linens, or waste from an unwell passenger — follows a 'contain, bag, and dispose' approach to avoid spreading germs to other surfaces or people.

These habits protect everyone: a crew member who is diligent about hand hygiene and safe handling reduces risk to passengers, and a cabin kept clean during and after an illness event reduces risk to the next flight's passengers too.