XPost: alt.usage.english   
   From: mail@peterduncanson.net   
      
   On Fri, 08 Apr 2016 11:20:31 +0100, Jack Campin    
   wrote:   
      
   >>> 1960s - every time I flew into Hawaii from S.E.A. (mainly Viet Nam), at   
   >>> about 15 minutes before landing, one stewardess would race the length of   
   >>> the 707-320 with a spray can of some insecticide blasting away, held low   
   >>> to avoid gagging the passengers. There was a detectable aroma, but it was   
   >>> not intolerable.  I understood this was done at the orders of the state   
   >>> of Hawaii, rather than the feds.   
   >> This used to be done for _all_ incoming flights to Australia. (Including   
   >> from Hawaii, which used to be the standard stop for flights between   
   >> Australia and the USA.) The smell was pretty strong, and I'm a little   
   >> surprised that asthmatics survived it.   
   >> I imagine that there's still form of disinfectation going on, but it's   
   >> probably something more subtle delivered through the air conditioning.   
   >   
   >No, they come round with spray cans.  I met with it on a flight   
   >two years ago (I forget which countries were involved - maybe   
   >Malaysia to UK).   
   >   
   >I am violently sensitive to whatever that insecticide is and nearly   
   >passed out from it once, landing in the UK from Turkey.  On that last   
   >occasion I yelled at them to stop so I had time to go hide in a toilet.   
   >   
   I remember when travelling by plane (both directions) between the UK and   
   West Africa (Gold Coast) in the mid-1950s insecticide was sprayed in the   
   cabin at some airports. My vague recollection is that someone told me it   
   was DDT.   
      
   --   
   Peter Duncanson, UK   
   (in alt.usage.english)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)