Flight crew with years of experience explained some of the unhygienic, dangerous and rude behaviour passengers should never get up to on a plane - from wearing shorts to handing staff 'steaming' sick bags

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With many Irish people preparing to jet off on their first summer holiday in more than two years, cabin crew members have shared some flight secrets - including some things passengers should never do on a plane.

Some are for etiquette reasons to avoid making a fool of yourself, while others are based on hygiene reasons.

Deanna Castro, who has been a flight attendant for over 16 years, and cabin crew member Tommy Cimato, have given five tips and tricks on what travellers should and shouldn't be doing onboard a plane.

READ MORE:Drunk man kicked off Ryanair flight after being 'too excited' for first holiday in years

Speaking to InsideHook recently, they offered the inside track on flying.

When boarding and putting your bag into the overhead, Deanna said you should always step into your row to let other passengers pass.

She advised that passengers should try to never block the walkways as it can cause congestion, Mirror UK reports.

“When boarding, it’s polite to step into your row and allow other passengers to pass behind you.

"It’s okay to take a few extra minutes to get ready, but please step into the aisle and wait for a lull in traffic," she said.

On top of this, she said it was also imperative for safety.

“When you are dangling body parts into the aisle, flight attendants can trip and get hurt. Not only that, but you could get hurt — especially from a cart," she continued.

The cabin crew member highlighted an obvious but necessary point - that passengers should never hand their sick bags to the crew.

“Place it under your seat. We can give you an extra bag to wrap it up in, but please don’t push that hot steaming bag of vomit into a flight attendant’s hands," she said.

While troubled fliers may be in a rush to get the sick away from themselves, she asked passengers to spare a thought for who they were giving it too.

Cabin crew member Tommy Cimato said that some parts of the plane were dirtier than others, and because of this, some should be avoided.

“Do not fall asleep or lean your head on the window,” he said.

He warned that you never knew how many people had done the same and whether the window had been cleaned or not.

“You are not the only one that has done that and you don't know how many people or children have wiped their hands or other things all over the window," he said.

The crew member cautioned people against wearing shorts for the same reason.

As fliers never knew how clean the plane was and which bits would be, or would not be, cleaned, he recommended sticking to trousers at 12,000 feet.

“Don’t or try not to wear shorts when you're on an airplane. It's the same thing as the window – you never know how clean it's going to be, so if you have pants, you're going to have less germs," he said.

The final recommendation was a simple one - to never touch the flush button on an airplane toilet.

Crew members say passengers should always flush, but never, under any circumstances, press the button.

Tommy was blunt in his description of it, calling it “pretty gross”.

He said: “Do not ever touch the flush button with your bare hands. It's honestly just super unsanitary and pretty gross, so when you flush, use a napkin or tissue that's in the lavatory.”

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