Dirty planes and high prices: US workers and passengers expect further misery as air travel rebounds

The world is traveling again. Summer air travel is expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels in 2023, according to the TSA, and airline revenues are back to near record levels. But for airline workers – who suffered the brunt of pandemic shutdowns and then the spike in air rage that followed – unresolved labor issues remain and many are warning that for passengers those issues, which have led to a surge in operational problems, remain and are likely to cause more concerns this holiday season. Dirty planes are just one of the issues travelers are likely to face, according to Rosa Sanchez, an airplane cabin cleaner for airline contractor Swissport, which provides service for several airlines at Logan airport in Boston. Understaffing and a lack of adequate protective equipment has driven high turnover rates and undermined the effectiveness of her and her co-workers’ ability to properly clean planes, she said. She said they are also constantly rushed and not given enough time to clean the planes. “Sometimes we don’t have enough supplies to clean, so we just use what we have or just use water. Sometimes we don’t have a mop, so we use the blankets left on airplanes by passengers to clean the floors,” said Sanchez. “Sometimes in the bathroom there will be blood on the floor, toilet, walls, and there is feces and urine on top of the toilet. When I don’t have enough gloves, I’ve had to wrap a blanket around my hand to clean the bathroom.” Sanchez and several workers at Swissport, the largest airport services provider in the US, have filed complaints against the company with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha). Swissport has refuted the claims, saying the company is in full compliance with labor regulations and that “the health and safety of all our employees is the highest priority for Swissport”.<br/>