After use, airlines will most often send blankets off to be washed at an industrial facility (whether it's one they operate themselves or via a laundry service), but for some carriers this only happens at their home base airports, so used blankets are either stuffed in the overhead bins or folded back up.

Whether an airplane blanket is washed depends heavily on the class of service and the length of the flight. In 2026, most major airlines follow a "gold standard" protocol for long-haul international flights and premium cabins (First and Business), where every blanket is laundered, sanitized, and resealed in a plastic bag after every single use. However, for domestic and short-haul flights in Economy, the rules are "fuzzier." Many airlines only replace blankets at the start of the day; if you are on a mid-afternoon flight, your blanket may have been folded and reused from a previous passenger. A "pro-tip" to tell if a blanket is clean is to check if it is hermetically sealed in plastic; if it is loose or just folded on your seat, it likely hasn't been through the industrial wash cycle since its last use. Due to hygiene concerns and "textile waste" goals, some budget carriers have stopped providing blankets altogether, so if you are sensitive to germs or prone to being cold, bringing your own lightweight travel scarf or compact blanket is the safest bet.