A travel advisor has warned travellers to never wear one thing on a plane as she says it could save your life. She shared a video on TikTok explaining the risks
A travel advisor has issued a stark warning about a common clothing item you should steer clear of when flying.
Mari, who specialises in adult-only holidays and runs her own independent travel agency in the US, regularly imparts her wisdom on TikTok. In a recent video that’s garnered considerable attention with 471,900 views in just five working days, Mari cautions against wearing synthetic materials on board an aircraft because they could pose a serious safety hazard.
She explains that if an airplane were to crash or catch fire, synthetic material can melt and adhere to your skin, which can cause severe burns – far more readily than natural fibres, which also tend to ignite less easily. In her social media clip, Mari warned: “Now you should never wear synthetic materials on an airplane because if you’re in an instance where the airplane goes down or there’s a fire on the plane synthetic material actually melts and will melt to your skin and that doesn’t say that natural fibre clothing doesn’t cause burns or catch fire.”
She further added: “It just means that synthetic fibre materials do cause burns at a higher rate and synthetic fibres also ignite much more quickly so even just the lightest spark will catch your clothing on fire.”
At the start of her video, she stressed that avoiding synthetic fibres is “one thing that you should never ever wear on an airplane and it could save your life if you don’t wear it”. The post has sparked a flurry of likes and comments, with one user admitting: “Girl!! You just stressed me out!”
To this, Mari responded by sharing how a friend of her mother’s who works in aerospace imparted this insight to her, sending her anxiety skyrocketing and prompting an immediate wardrobe overhaul. Another person chimed in: “Flight attendant here. Especially don’t wear synthetic tights in case of an emergency evacuation, they will melt into your skin while sliding down the slides.”
A third user queried: “If the aeroplane goes down will it really matter what I’m wearing?” To which Mari retorted: “If you survive, yes, it will matter.”
Another individual remarked: “So very true. I met a woman who survived a plane crash in the 80s, she told us this fact!” Fabric UK has also issued a warning about the potential risk of donning synthetic fibres.
It stated: “Some synthetics will not ignite into a flame easily, but when they do catch fire they can be unsafe because many synthetic fibres are thermoplastic, meaning that they become mouldable under high heat. Therefore the fabric will melt, which can cause serious burns to the skin making non fire retardant synthetic fabrics unsuitable for protective clothing.”
It further explains that more tightly woven fabrics will be “harder to ignite in comparison to lighter weight fabrics which will burn easier”. The fabric selling website considers wool to be “one of the safest fabrics” out of both synthetic and natural fibres as it “does not easily ignite, and if it does ignite then the flame will often diminish and the fabric will not melt”.
While it is rare to be on a plane that catches fire or crashes, wearing the right material could help you in such a situation. You can find the fabric composition of your clothes by checking the labels.
