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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Travel
Natasha May

Delays, deodorant and ripped up carpet: how airlines handle mid-flight ‘biological hazards’

A plane flys into a vomit sick bag
‘Nightmare’ scenarios: travel is a major risk factor for gastrointestinal illnesses. Composite: Victoria Hart/Guardian Design/Getty Images

A little over an hour into their transatlantic flight, Kate Carson’s daughters had just lain down to sleep when suddenly their Air New Zealand “cuddle class” skycouch became a “nightmare” scene.

A stomach bug that had been troubling their family during the holiday reared its head again: her youngest, three years old, started throwing up. “The first time, she was asleep, and no one saw it coming, and it went all into the seat … down the side and into the crack,” Carson says.

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