Qantas passengers horrified as ‘foul’ dust cloud rises up from plane seats

‘Be glad for hepa filters,’ wrote one air traveller

A Qantas passenger shocked fellow customers this week by posting a video of thick dust rising from what he said was a seat on one of the airline’s planes.

The man posted the clip of himself hitting what looks like a normal, black plane seat beside him, causing a dense puff of white dust to spring up into the seatback in front.

The unnamed passenger posted it to a private Facebook group before it was obtained by the Daily Mail, saying in the caption that he had filmed it on 10 August on a domestic flight from Sydney to Perth.

Several travellers commented on the man’s video, with many horrified by the sight of the thick dust. Others said that dirty transport was par for the course when travelling.

”OMG that is foul,” one woman commented in the thread of replies.

“Years of built up, human dead skin cells and billions of dust mites feeding on it,” said another Facebook user.

“What’s wrong, isn’t that the new snow feature? To create a winter wonderland while enjoying 5 star service,” wrote a third person.

“I won’t be flying anywhere unless I really, really have to at the moment … the quality of service of these airlines at the moment is appalling,” said another.

Meanwhile, one unenthusiastic air traveller added: “That’s the same no matter the transport, train, bus, coach, plane. This isn’t something new. Be glad for hepa filters.”

A Qantas person told News.com.au that aircraft are cleaned regularly and suggested something had been “spilt” on the seat.

“They undergo deep cleaning on a regular basis, including the seat covers and cushions,” said the spokesperson.

“Aircraft are also sprayed every month with an antimicrobial treatment that is an antibacterial which has anti-Covid and anti-flu properties.”

They assured reporters that the seat on flight QF643 had been “thoroughly cleaned yesterday”.

Earlier this week one passenger called for the introduction of “adults-only” flights after a child screamed for the entirety of her journey.

Morgan Lee posted a video to Tiktok with the caption, “The flight was three hours and I listened to this the entire time”.

“Why isn’t there such a thing as adult only flights? I would pay so much money,” she wrote on the video.