Even new travelers know that there are things about air travel that airlines don’t usually tell passengers. But because travel by air gets cheaper and cheaper, we try not to complain.

But to satisfy your curiosity, we created a list of travel secrets that the aviation industry never divulge to unsuspecting travelers.

Are you ready? Here we go.

1. Seats are getting smaller.

It’s not you! Seriously. To maximise profits and to remain competitive, airlines squeeze in as many passengers as they could in their aircrafts and the results are less legroom and seating area for you.

2. Things are kinda dirty onboard

It’s in the flight crew’s routing to clean after passengers have disembarked. However, they have very little to do this. This leaves certain areas of the plane filled with microbes and germs, starting with your foldable table to the lavatory. Make sure to disinfect before entering and after leaving the plane.

3. Flight times are not accurate

Did you know that flight times are padded to allow for delays? The travel duration in your ticket have a little extra minutes in them.

4. Planes get hit by lightning – a lot

Most planes will get struck by lightning at least once a year. But don’t worry. Planes were built to withstand lightning and when yours do get hit mid air, you will almost never feel it.

5. Never ever walk around barefoot

Flight attendants know it. The onboard carpet is probably the dirtiest there is inside a plane. It’s filled with dirt and bodily fluids. So disgusting, we know!

6. The pilots are exhausted

This you probably don’t know but the people in the cockpit are probably sleep-deprived and very exhausted. Regulations only allow pilots to be in the air 8 hours in a 24-hour cycle, but this does not include pre-flight checks, delays, loading the plane, or basic necessities like eating and breaks.

Do you know some airlines’ secrets we are not familiar of? Let us know in the comments?