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Aircraft Cleaning 6-7 hours a night NOPE

mike3890
Explorer C

Good afternoon everyone.  I am new to these forums but would like to provide my insight on Southwest and aviation in general. I seen information today from southwest that “We deep clean each aircraft, nose to tail, for 6-7 hours every night.”  This is simply not true!  The cleaners at night are “contracted” and not employed by southwest.  I have knowledge that the so called cleaning crews (usually about two people) board the aircraft and “clean” for about 30 minutes then move onto the next aircraft.  The 6-7 hours of cleaning every aircraft every night is simply misleading and incorrect.  There is no way 2 people can fully clean a 737 in 30 minutes.  And this behavior was witnessed within the past 7 days.  Do not believe the talking points or statements given by southwest about the cleanliness of their aircraft.  Anyone who has ever worked in aviation knows the aircraft are dirty and nasty even in this time of COVID-19.  Yes southwest has improved their cleaning procedures and I applaud them for that.  

 

In closing, do not ever drink the coffee or use the ice in an aircraft when you are traveling.  The coffee water comes from a holding tank and the ice is supplied from a catering company and the ice bags are frequently put in unsanitary conditions in the catering truck

7 REPLIES 7

Re: Aircraft Cleaning 6-7 hours a night NOPE

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

I initially thought the claim, "We spend more than six hours cleaning each aircraft every night" sounded a little off, but I suspect if 6 people spend an hour that accounts for the 6 hours of total labor.  It seems reasonable that over the course of a night 6 hours of labor are put into cleaning and preparing each aircraft.

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Aircraft Cleaning 6-7 hours a night NOPE

mike3890
Explorer C

Hey Middle Seat! 

I know your a frequent poster on here and I’m glad you responded.  The 6-7 hours of cleaning every night is “off”- from personal experience I have never seen 6 people enter an aircraft (usually 2 people) and clean it for an entire hour which would account for 6 hours of labor even during COVID-19.  Either southwest is pulling a fast one or they do not have the correct oversight of their contract cleaners.   The only time the aircraft gets fully cleaned is during the “heavy checks”. 

Re: Aircraft Cleaning 6-7 hours a night NOPE

mike3890
Explorer C

I have seen many RON aircraft (remain overnight) that have been hardly touched by a cleaning crew and they were scheduled to fly the next day.  Trash taken out of the galleys and ice bins sanitized- that’s about it.

Re: Aircraft Cleaning 6-7 hours a night NOPE

ipsedixit
Frequent Flyer C

And this is news, how?

Re: Aircraft Cleaning 6-7 hours a night NOPE

YeahNoMaybe
Adventurer A

Someone sounds like a bitter or former employee with an axe to grind. 

Re: Aircraft Cleaning 6-7 hours a night NOPE

92saints
Explorer C

Sometimes the right path is not always the easiest

Re: Aircraft Cleaning 6-7 hours a night NOPE

Passenger1C
Aviator C

When deplaning I often see more than 2 cleaners waiting to board the plane to clean. The cleaning crew works together in teams to get the job completed. I have confidence that this is a non issue. 


SWA Passenger, Community Champion