Drink Coffee Before Boarding the Plane
Traveling by air is tiring and usually requires a cup or coffee (or tea) or two, but you’ll probably want to fix that before boarding. Flight attendants – people with whom I listen to my advice on planes – do not or will not drink hot coffee, tea, or water served on planes because the water comes from the tap, and the water from the tap on the plane can be pretty disgusting.
According to a video posted by Business Insider , the EPA found that one in eight aircraft did not meet “industry standards” for drinking water and that tap water on some aircraft was contaminated with salmonella and “even insect eggs.” (I couldn’t find exactly how many insect eggs were in the water, or what the “acceptable” amount of insect eggs in tap water would be, but that doesn’t sound great.)
When BI reached out to the Flight Attendants Association-CWA (flight attendants union for comment, they didn’t seem impressed with the way tap water is handled on planes:
The water on board is regulated by the EPA to provide safe drinking water on board, ”the Flight Attendants Association-CWA told Business Insider . “The Flight Attendants Association-CWA pushed for this regulation more than 15 years ago. The regulation gives airlines broad authority over how often they should check water and flush tanks. AFA does not consider this regulation to go far enough or to be sufficiently enforced.
Does this mean that drinking coffee on the plane will instantly get sick? Probably not, but Dr. Cedric Spack, an infectious disease specialist at Baylor University Medical Center, told NBC that people with weakened immune systems should probably avoid it . If you’re in dire need of caffeine during your flight and don’t want to play with bacteria and insect eggs, consider purchasing a Diet Coke or other sealed caffeinated beverage.
This is why flight attendants don’t drink tap water on planes | Business Insider