The Grossest Things Ever Found or Seen on an Airplane

There’s nothing worse than being on a plane and sitting next to someone who’s a chatterbox, suffering from the flu or airsick… or is there? It turns out that flying can actually expose you to some really, really disgusting things and cause you to lose all faith in humanity. Here are some examples of the grossest things found or seen on planes. We’re sorry.

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Bedbugs

It’s not only when you stay in sketchy hotels that you might be exposed to bedbugs. As The Telegraph reports, there was an outbreak of bedbugs on a British Airways Boeing 747 in February of 2016.

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Gastroenteritis on a long-haul flight

In 2013, the Daily Mail reported that a 13-hour flight from Chile to Australia was plagued by an outbreak of gastroenteritis, with 26 passengers suffering from diarrhea and vomiting. There were only 8 toilets on the Qantas Boeing 747.

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Passengers soiling themselves

Stories of passengers soiling themselves during flights are not uncommon. One BuzzFeed reader shared the story of how the man seated next to her soiled his pants because he was too nervous to ask her to get up so he could go to the toilet.

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Flying false teeth

A BuzzFeed reader told of how a family put their false teeth in the water glasses. When the plane hit turbulence, the teeth went flying, landing in the reader’s lap.

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Sideburn grooming

One of BuzzFeed’s readers wrote that a flight attendant sitting in front of her and her mother started plucking his sideburns with tweezers. And just to make it even more disgusting: He would then proceed to eat each plucked hair.

Public Displays of Affection on airplane

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Very public displays of affection

In 2013, the New York Daily News reported that an American couple faced criminal charges after some very public displays of affection on a flight to Las Vegas. They performed several sexual acts in front of other passengers.

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Sexual assault

In recent years, there have been several cases of sexual assault on planes. In 2014, for instance, The Guardian reported that a male passenger appeared in court in Hawaii after he had been accused of breaking into the toilet to assault a female passenger on a Japan Airlines flight.

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Bare feet

The Instagram account Passenger Shaming abounds with pictures of passengers who thought it would be a good idea to take off their shoes during a flight. Unfortunately those bare feet aren’t always clean or well groomed.

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Bare chests

Some of the offenders outed on Passenger Shaming went a step further than just taking off their shoes. As if being on a plane is just like being on the beach, they took off their shirts and exposed fellow passengers to their bare chests.

plane passengers who take off their pants

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No pants

Even worse than taking off their shirts are the passengers who take off their pants.

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In-flight mani or pedi

Several images on Passenger Shaming show passengers clipping their finger- or toenails. These clippings often end up in the pocket on the back of the seat.

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Hair in your face

Another regular type of offender on Passenger Shaming is the one who drapes their hair over the headrest (like the young woman who made headlines over her ponytail), forcing the person in the seat behind them to deal with hair in their face.

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Dirty diapers

Flight attendants often tell tales of passengers using the tray table to change their baby’s diaper. These dirty diapers are then placed in the pocket at the back of the seat.

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Used condoms

While safe sex is the responsible thing to do when you join the Mile High Club, it’s not as responsible to leave your used condom underneath the seat, like some photos on Passenger Shaming show. Someone might slip on it, after all.

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Used catheters

One Passenger Shaming picture showed a used, full catheter on the floor between seats. (We've spared you the visual here.) At least it wasn’t in the seat pocket!

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Urine in a bottle (and worse)

Some passengers simply couldn’t hold it in, judging by photos of urine in bottles, plastic bags or even the bathroom sink on Passenger Shaming.

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Used toilet paper

Still with us? Good!

Several really gross pictures on Passenger Shaming show that people don’t always know what to do with their used toilet paper. It’s often found on the bathroom floor or in the aisle. Thank goodness for stock photography.