Air travel stinks.
There's no need to tell Daniel Bellew that. She was recently on a flight from the Caribbean island of Curaçao to Miami when she sat next to a passenger who emitted a strong body odor (rotten cheese and onions, as she described it).
“The flight was only a few hours long,” said Bellew, a travel advisor from Somerville, South Carolina.
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As a travel professional, she came fully prepared. She used a spray bottle of lightly scented hand sanitizer to prevent odors during the flight.
There's a scent war going on at 36,000 feet, and it's escalating in ways you can't see (and probably smell). Some passengers treat personal hygiene as if it were optional. Some people take matters into their own hands by spraying unapproved scents. Meanwhile, airlines maintain double standards when it comes to odor.
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What is the airline's policy regarding odors?
It turns out that airlines have odor regulations, but this is problematic.
for example:
American Airlines' Contract of Carriage (a legal agreement between you and the airline) states that you can refuse to carry someone who “emit a foul odor, such as from an exuding wound.” Delta also reserves the right to refuse carriage “if:” The passenger's behavior, clothing, hygiene, or odor creates an unreasonable risk of discomfort or inconvenience to other passengers. United Airlines has a similar policy, refusing to transport “passengers who have a foul odor or who cause a foul odor.”
At the same time, airlines have given themselves broad permission to release their scents onboard.
A few years ago, United Airlines reportedly began using a unique fragrance (orange peel, bergamot, and cypress) called Landing on its flights. Delta Airlines scented its aircraft with Calm (lavender and chamomile). During the pandemic, airlines have sprayed chemical cleaning agents into cabins, giving some passengers headaches. And don't even get me started on the lungfuls of jet fuel smoke that sometimes waft into the cabin before takeoff.
As I said earlier, it's a war of scents.
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Reports of aircraft odors have been in the news recently. There was a passenger on an American Airlines flight from Phoenix to Austin who allegedly farted. One witness claimed that it became so unbearable that the plane turned around and returned to the gate to remove the smelly traveler.
Last year, two Air Canada passengers were removed from a plane after refusing to sit on seats covered in vomit. The airline later apologized.
Most of the odors come from the cargo hold. A frequent culprit is durian, which has a distinctive odor that resembles honey, sewage, and rotten onions. As a result, several aircraft were forced to make emergency landings. Despite durian's popularity in Asia, many airlines ban it.
My worst odor experience was many years ago when I flew from New York to Vienna on a Soviet-made plane operated by Romania's flag carrier Tarom.
I was trapped in the back seat of a plane, and the moment the “no smoking” light went off, it seemed like all the passengers, including the children, turned it on at the same time. But that wasn't the only problem. The toilet was directly behind me, and someone poured a chemical that smelled like cherries and looked like battery acid into the toilet, and within an hour of leaving, the toilet started overflowing.
It was a long flight.
How to fight odor without breaking the rules
So, what should you do if you encounter a strange odor on an airplane? Before spraying yourself with perfume or air fresheners, which may not be allowed by your airline, here are some less invasive methods.
say something. Find someone who can help you. Flight attendants may be able to move you to another seat or, if the plane has not yet departed, remove the person emitting an unpleasant odor. “Be polite and let the flight attendant know right away,” says frequent flyer and adventure travel blogger Jackson Groves. “If we work together, I'm sure we can fix it or make it more tolerable.”
Handle issues politely. If the problem is human, you might be able to negotiate a truce. “One person's dream scent is another person's nightmare,” says etiquette expert Nick Leighton. If you see someone spraying cologne on their seats, it's a good idea to remind them that it's good manners to avoid leaving a smell behind.
I improvise. That's what Uneaka Daniels, a book expert from Bermuda, does when she sits next to a passenger who suffers from her body odor. She has a white scarf with diffusing beads containing essential oils. Technically speaking, she didn't spray anything. She used her strategy on a recent flight to London. “The guy next to me didn't smell good. It was a six-hour flight,” she recalled.
And don't add to the problem. If you think there may be odors on board, please refrain from activities that may cause odors on board. That includes eating a hearty Italian dinner with lots of garlic, Polish sausage, and durian. Avoid durian at all costs.
“And when you know you're going to be on a plane, don't wear perfume,” added etiquette expert Adeodata Cinku. “It will disturb the people sitting around you and you won't be able to get off the plane.”
But is there a way to get rid of this palooza-like smell? Maybe.
How to fix the smell on an airplane
There is a way to call a truce in the odor wars on airplanes, but it will require leadership from the airline industry.
It starts with creating common-sense standards for flying and making sure everyone follows them. The Canadian Center for Occupational Safety and Health offers several suggestions for creating a fragrance-free policy.
That means asking passengers to take care of their personal hygiene and refrain from using perfume or cologne before their flights. Airlines may also issue formal policies restricting scented products on board. Smelly aftershave, essential oils, lotions and soaps are prohibited.
Most importantly, airlines must hold themselves to the same standards they set for their passengers. In other words, there are no industrial detergents in the bathroom, and no signature scents that are described as “calm,” “happy,” or “make me want to sign up for an addictive loyalty program.”
Odors are a serious problem on airplanes. Strong body odor can literally make you vomit. Chemicals in scented products can cause headaches, nausea, upper respiratory problems, and skin irritation.
It's time to put an end to the in-flight scent wars. Wait until you land and slather on Chanel Blue or lavender oil.
Thank you to all my fellow passengers. So am I.
Christopher Elliott is an author, consumer advocate, and journalist. He founded Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps solve consumer problems. He publishes Elliott Confidential, a travel newsletter, and Elliott Report, a customer service news site. If you need help with a consumer issue, you can contact him here or email chris@elliott.org.
