WARNING: Frequent fliers or people with previous flying experience can skip this post altogether…unless you’re just plain bored and want to read anyway. But if you’ve never flown before, you might find this information useful.

So I was flying from Amsterdam to KL via Singapore and sleep remained elusive. I’ve had my lunch, I’ve nibbled on snacks, I’ve kept myself hydrated with mineral water and apple juice. I’ve watched the movies that I wanted to see. And yet I couldn’t sleep.

At some point, I needed to go to the lavatory. That’s when inspiration suddenly struck — what if I took pics and created a blog post about plane lavatories? You could practically see the light bulb glowing bright on top of my head.

Weird? Yes. Possibility of being useful? Maybe. Afterall, there’s no Dummies’ Guide To Plane Lavatories, to my knowledge. Hence, the idea for this blog post was born at 35,000 feet above sea level.

A plane’s lavatory is arguably a claustrophobe’s biggest nightmare. It’s so cramped that you hardly have room to turn around inside. It’s a wonder how they manage to cram so many things inside. (And how I managed to take these pics haha!)

First things first: lock the door the moment you’re inside by pushing the button (shown by the red arrow) to the direction of the arrow on the door — in this case, to the left. This will turn on the lights and ensure that you can do your business in complete confidence. Francesca In France would appreciate this — she once walked in on someone “sitting on the throne” (to use her words) in a plane to France.

And please take the “No Smoking” sign very seriously. Plane lavatories are equipped with smoke detectors which will emit audible signals to warn the flight crew of any violation.

There’s a coat hook behind the door. Pull it out to hang your coat, jacket or handbag there.

Don’t worry about getting stuck inside the lavatory in case of an emergency. I’ve read that the flight crew have a method of opening the door from outside in such cases. As a matter of fact, there’s a button that you can press in case you need assistance from them anytime (marked ‘Attendant Call’).

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