From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: The Use of Sanitization Inspections in Aircraft Galleys and Lavatories Description: These days, many people are worried about air travel, and whether it is safe in the time of COVID-19. But even before the pandemic, GAO was looking at the cleanliness of airplanes and sanitation practices in galleys and bathrooms. We talk to GAO's Steve Morris about his recent review of FDA's role in inspecting sanitation in airplane-galleys and lavatories. Related GAO Work: GAO-20-612, Aviation Sanitation: FDA Could Better Communicate with Airlines to Encourage Voluntary Construction Inspections of Aircraft Galleys and Lavatories Released: September 2020 [Intro Music] [Steve Morris:] We really think that FDA can do more in this space to protect passenger health by encouraging all the airlines to receive inspections. [Holly Hobbs:] Hi, and welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report, your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. I'm Holly Hobbs. These days many people are worried about air travel and whether it's safe in the time of a pandemic. But even before COVID-19 GAO was looking at the cleanliness of airplanes and sanitation practices and galleys and bathrooms. Today, we talked to Steve Morris--a director in our Natural Resources Environment Team--about his recent review of FDA's role in inspecting sanitation and airplane galleys and lavatories. Thank you for joining us, Steve. [Steve Morris:] Good morning, Holly. Thanks for having me on. [Holly Hobbs:] So, Steve, this work was done before COVID-19, and we didn't really look at air filtration systems and pandemic concerns. But what did we look at, and what did we find? [Steve Morris:] We're living through very challenging times, obviously right now, and folks are concerned about whether it's even safe to fly. But even before the pandemic, there were questions about passenger health and air travel. So, we look specifically at efforts to ensure that airplane galleys--where food is basically stored and prepared--and also bathrooms, are sanitary. So as the agency in charge, the FDA, that's the Food and Drug Administration, they set sanitary standards, Holly, and they also conduct inspections to ensure that the standards are met. But the airlines and aircraft manufacturer, they also play a key role in all this, as they have to request an FDA inspection if they want one. But they also may conduct their own inspections with approval from FDA. The good news in all this that, according to FDA, of the thousands of airplanes in the U.S. commercial fleet, most of them inspected and have been certified that they're meeting the sanitary standards. [Holly Hobbs:] And what do these sanitation inspections look for? [Steve Morris:] The FDA sanitary standards essentially call for airplane galleys and bathrooms to be built and maintained in such a way as to be cleaned and free from pests and disease. So in actuality, when FDA inspectors or their industry counterparts are conducting the inspections, they're looking to make sure that, for example, bathroom plumbing is installed properly to prevent leaks, and that the galley surfaces are sealed tight to prevent any food contamination, among other things. So, it's important to note, Holly, that these inspections are typically done before the airplane is ever put in service and starts transporting passengers. Airplanes that do pass the inspection receive what's called a certificate of sanitary construction, and that's displayed in the aircraft cabin. [Music Break] [Holly Hobbs:] So, it sounds like U.S.-based airline companies make their own decisions about whether they feel FDA inspections are necessary and may not reach out to request one, but that these instant actions are especially important. Steve, did we make any recommendations to FDA that would promote increased use of sanitation inspections? [Steve Morris:] We actually did. You know, we feel it's really important that the word get out about the availability and benefit of these inspections. So we're recommending that FDA communicate directly with all U.S. commercial airlines to encourage them to request inspection. And, you know, we really feel like this would give the public greater confidence that the airplanes they're flying in are meeting FDA sanitary standards. [Holly Hobbs:] Steve, last question. What's the bottom line of this report? [Steve Morris:] I think the bottom line here, you know, making sure airplanes are clean and sanitary is very important, right? And the flying public really deserves no less than that. But, again, the good news here, the federal government and the industry are working together to ensure that the airplanes are meeting the sanitary standards before they're being used to transport passengers. While most airplanes have undergone an inspection, some are not, particularly those belonging to some of the smaller regional airlines. So we really think that FDA can do more in this space to protect passenger health by encouraging all the airlines to receive inspection. [Holly Hobbs:] That was Steve Morris talking about GAO's recent review of FDA's aviation sanitation inspections. Thank you for your time, Steve. [Steve Morris:] Thank you very much, Holly. [Holly Hobbs:] And thank you for listening to the Watchdog Report. To hear more podcasts, subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, and make sure you leave a rating and review to let others know about the work we're doing. For more from the congressional watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, visit us at gao.gov.