I hate being ill, and as a result, when I travel through airports, I always carry hand sanitiser in my handbag and prefer to hover rather than plant myself in the toilets, but it seems my avoidance bugs strategy is directed to the least rather than most unhygienic parts of the airport.
A recent study by InsuranceQuotes.com has discovered that the most filthy part of the airport is, in fact, the self-service check-in kiosk. This is simply a result of the huge number of people using the touchscreens.
The average self-check-in screen contained 253,857 colony-forming units (CFU); viable bacteria and fungal cells, per square inch according to the findings, while one particularly potent kiosk hosted over one million CFU/sq. in.
In comparison, the average household toilet averages just 172 CFU. Yuck!
The second most dirty place in the airport was the gate bench armrests followed by the water fountain buttons averaged 19,181 CFU/sq. in. which is comparable to the bacteria levels in the average household kitchen sink.
How about on the plane? A 2015 study showed 2,155 colony forming units per square inch on airline tray tables, compared to 265 CFUs/sq inch on the toilet flush buttons and 70 on toilet stall locks.
Knowledge is king so arm yourself with wipes and sprays and keep flying!
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