Monday, Sep 14, 2026

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Aeroplane bathrooms are somehow both glamorous and disgusting at the same time. The sexiness of the aeroplane toilet is part of the persistent idea of flying as highly aspirational, with its clichéd connotations of attractive flight attendants, wealth, and exciting destinations. As the locus of the much-lauded Mile High Club, plane bathrooms signify status and erotic adventure. There’s something illicit about the toilets being the only private enclave within the enclosed space of the plane. Perhaps it also has something to do with no longer being earthbound.As liminal non-places lit by clinical, fluorescent light and propelled through the sky at 500mph, there’s also an undeniable JG Ballard-esque quality of technological fetishism that makes aeroplane loos appealing. Nonetheless, they are also cramped, unpleasant public conveniences which devolve into increasing squalor over the duration of the flight. More than one thing can be true. ... by Emily Dinsdale