November 24, 2025, 5:44 am | Read time: 3 minutes
On long-haul flights, many airlines provide pillows, blankets, and various other amenities. But what happens to these items after the flight ends? TRAVELBOOK inquired with five airlines.
Pillows, blankets, and headphones are typically part of the standard offering on long-haul flights. Sometimes, amenities such as sleep masks and dental kits are also available when you board the plane. Often, these are shrink-wrapped or placed in small packages on the seat. However, blankets and pillows may sometimes be unpackaged. This might lead some to wonder how clean they really are and whether they were cleaned beforehand. At TRAVELBOOK, we also wondered how sustainably airlines handle these items. Therefore, we asked five airlines what they do with blankets, pillows, headphones, and sleep masks after their flights–are they cleaned each time or thrown away?
What the Airlines Say
Condor
If you fly with Condor to a distant destination, the level of comfort in terms of blankets and pillows depends on the class booked. Every passenger receives a pillow, but blankets are only available for Premium Economy and Business Class passengers, Condor explained to TRAVELBOOK. “The pillowcases in Economy Class and Premium Economy Class are equipped with disposable covers made of very thin paper-cotton composite and are renewed after each flight,” the airline stated. Blankets and pillows in Business Class, however, are collected after the flight and cleaned and disinfected using “special chemical processes” before being reused.
Headphones are available for free only in Premium Economy Class; Economy Class passengers can purchase them on board and take them with them afterward. Additionally, on all Condor long-haul flights, passengers have the option to connect their own headphones via Bluetooth, the airline explained.
Lufthansa
At Lufthansa, blankets and pillows are available for every guest on long- and medium-haul flights as well as on shorter night flights, regardless of the class booked. After the flight, “all blankets and pillows (…) are collected and cleaned,” the airline told TRAVELBOOK.
Headphones are also available during long-haul flights. These are distributed according to the class booked or are placed directly on the seat. The headphones in First and Business Class “can be collected and reused thanks to individual covers,” a Lufthansa spokesperson explained. The headphones distributed in Economy and Premium Economy Class may be taken by guests after the flight. “Unused models (are) redistributed,” the spokesperson said. In some aircraft, it is also possible to use your own headphones, so the airline distributes fewer headphones overall. Generally, Lufthansa is increasingly focusing on sustainability.
Singapore Airlines
At Singapore Airlines, every passenger on a long-haul flight receives a pillow, blanket, sleep mask, and headphones. According to the airline, after the flight, all “pillowcases and blankets are washed and ironed,” while the pillows themselves remain on board. The same applies to the headphones in First, Premium, and Business Class. However, Singapore Airlines disposes of the headphones distributed in Economy Class after the flight. The same applies to all sleep masks.
The other airlines did not respond to the inquiries by the editorial deadline. Should further responses follow, this text will be updated.