When Brits fly back from certain holiday destinations, flight attendants walk up and down the plane’s aisles and spray a liquid over passengers’ heads.
It happens moments before take-off once holidaymakers are buckled into their seats and ready for the hours-long journey home.
But many are left wondering what it is that they’re spraying into the air within the confined space and whether it’s dangerous to inhale.
It can be a confusing experience if you don’t know what’s going on, but this explainer from the Manchester Evening News will fill you in.
Roy Fitzgerald, 64, from Salford, was onboard a Jet2 flight from Funchal in Madeira last month when the crew announced that the cabin was going to be sprayed with insecticide.
The passengers were told to close their eyes as the flight attendant marched up and down spritzing the air at random interludes.
He said: "When we were ready to depart, they just announced over the tannoy that they were going to spray insecticide. I have been on loads of flights and it’s never happened before.
"This flight attendant came round with a spray in each hand. He sprayed it into the air.
"It didn’t bother me, I just wondered what it was. We thought it was weird."
Why do they spray the inside of the aircraft?
The process is known as disinsection and is required on flights to and from certain destinations to prevent infectious and contagious diseases, a Civil Aviation Authority spokesman said.
It’s mainly sprayed in countries where diseases such as malaria and yellow fever are spread by insects, including mosquitoes.
The World Health Organisation has a set of guidelines outlining when and where it is necessary.
Which countries are affected?
There are a range of countries, such as Cuba, Jamaica, India, Australia and New Zealand, where the aircraft is routinely disinsected before take off.
The World Health Organisation website says: "There have been a number of cases of malaria affecting individuals who live or work in the vicinity of airports in countries where malaria is not present, thought to be due to the escape of malaria-carrying mosquitoes transported on aircraft.
"Some countries, e.g. Australia and New Zealand, routinely carry out disinsection to prevent the inadvertent introduction of species that may harm their agriculture."
In 2012, there was a Dengue outbreak in Madeira – the first outbreak of such disease since the 1920s
Read More
Top Stories from Mirror Online
-
Woman only went to toilet once a week
-
Man fed up of people mocking tattoos
-
Teen mum didn’t know she was pregnant
-
Man roundhouse kicks pro-life campaigner
What is the procedure used to disinsect the aircraft?
There are three procedures that are used to disinsect the aircraft listed on the World Health Organisation website.
They include
1. Treatment of the interior of the cabin using an insecticide spray just before take-off.
2. A spray of the interior of the aircraft before passengers get on board using a residual-insecticide aerosol, as well as inflight treatment with a spray before landing.
3. Regular application of a residual insecticide to all internal surfaces of the aircraft, except food preparation areas.
Is it dangerous?
The website says that the spray poses no risk to health, despite passengers sometimes complaining of feeling ill after it’s sprayed.
It states: "Passengers are sometimes concerned about their exposure to insecticide sprays during air travel, and some have reported feeling unwell after spraying of aircraft for disinsection.
"However, WHO has found no evidence that the specified insecticide sprays are harmful to human health when used as recommended."
Referring to the trip made by Roy in September, a Jet2 spokeswoman said: "The aircraft was sprayed in accordance with WHO guidelines."
Source: Read Full Article