Airline passengers often leave trash scattered in seatback pockets and on the floor. And increasingly, carriers spend little time cleaning up between flights. They don’t schedule enough time on the ground to do it anyway, and when a flight runs late it’s one of the first things that gets cut.
Southwest Airlines flight attendants have tidying duties in their contracts. Most airlines leave it to low paid contractors who are then not given any time to do it, and often have to work while passengers are getting off planes. That leads to cabin interiors that are quite unsanitary.
While there’s not sanitizing between flights, it’s important that passengers at least pass their trash to flight attendants as they come collecting. But, other than having a tidier personal space for the end of flight, what’s even the incentive for passengers to do this rather than shoving their refuse into the seat back pocket in front of them?
One creative flight attendant – on what looks like Spirit Airlines – found a way to make passengers help out cleaning the cabin, as captured in a viral video. This flight attendant made an announcement, leading passengers in a stretching exercise.
He encouraged them to reach down, only to humorously add, “…and pick up all that trash on the floor.” The passengers chuckled as they realized they’d been playfully duped into cleaning up.
Cleaning up after yourself is a basic starting point for civil society. You need to do it at your seat on a plane (as long as the airline makes it reasonably easy, coming down the aisle with a bag to collect trash and giving you enough time to gather it) and you need to do it in the movie theater too. Don’t just abandon those popcorn bags on the floor, carry them to the bins by the exit. It’s only a few feet.
How much longer will Spirit be in business. Bloggers have been sounding the death knell for months.
Seems like a ‘win-win,’ but… I’m sure someone will ‘re-educate’ us shortly.