Cleanliness across travel and particularly in airplane lavatories is of utmost importance, especially in the COVID-19 era, but Delta customers can rest easy.

“Over the past few months, our customer satisfaction scores have skyrocketed by double digits, including those for onboard lavatory cleanliness,” Bill Lentsch, Chief Customer Experience Officer said. “But that’s not stopping us from going even further to make sure customers feel safe and comfortable when they travel with Delta.”

Here are five ways we are keeping lavatories – and the rest of your onboard experience – safe, clean and comfortable on every flight, with even more enhancements to come:

Hand sanitizer stations are coming to your flight soon: Delta will become the first U.S. airline where customers can find hand sanitizer stations near the boarding door and bathrooms on every Delta aircraft. Now, you’ll truly never be more than a few feet away from hand sanitizer, with stations available from curb to claim.

Depending on the size of the aircraft and the number of customers, each Delta aircraft will have up to five hand sanitizer stations. Installations begin on Aug. 28 with the Boeing 757-200 fleet.

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Flight attendants are wiping down high-touch surfaces in lavatories frequently during each flight: While in the air, flight attendants regularly make sure lavatories are clean, tidy, fully stocked with supplies and ready for customers. Using kits that include disinfectant spray, wipes and gloves, flight attendants ensure the thorough sanitization completed prior to boarding stays fresh.

Look out for hands-free features already in many lavatories: Bathrooms on Delta’s A350s, A330-900neos, 767-400s and 757-200s already have some hands-free features such as touchless faucets, flush levers and waste lids. As we continue to look for more ways to reduce touchpoints, we’ll be exploring how we can bring touchless features forward throughout the travel experience.

Hand-washing reminders will be in each lavatory: Already installed on more than 130 planes, all aircraft bathrooms will soon feature hand-washing reminders.

Delta continues to use electrostatic sprayers before every flight, every day: Every interior surface is thoroughly sanitized prior to boarding using electrostatic sprayers. Following this process, cleaning crews complete an extensive checklist of cleaning procedures using this same high-grade disinfectant to wipe down personal and common areas of the cabin – including lavatories. Delta’s employees then perform spot checks throughout the aircraft and if it doesn’t meet their high standards before you board, our teams are encouraged to hold the flight to call back the cleaning crew.

The new hand sanitizer stations were designed in partnership with Delta Flight Products – the airline’s innovative industrial manufacturing subsidiary that quickly shifted its capabilities earlier in the year to focus on responding to the pandemic.

In June, Delta and Delta Flight Products teams went to work to find ways to make hand sanitizer accessible and available on board.

Delta’s new Global Cleanliness Division is working with teams across the airline and with partners to advance safety and cleanliness throughout travel.

Building on Delta’s already robust onboard cleanliness efforts as part of the Delta CareStandard, these new, industry-leading cleanliness features create a safer, more comfortable onboard experience for customers and employees alike.

From blocking middle seats into January 2021 to changing high-grade HEPA air filters twice as often as recommended, the airline is constantly updating best practices and improving the new standard of care based on expert medical advice and the feedback of customers.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.

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