The stomach-churning reason you should never drink coffee or tea on a flight
First you’re warned not to eat the food on aeroplanes and now an insider has revealed that the coffee and tea should be avoided as well.
Speaking to Vice, an anonymous flight attendant codenamed ‘Betty’ warned that the water used for making coffee and tea is the same as the water found in the toilets.
‘Betty,’ who works for a major American airline, revealed that the water could contain E. coli bacteria. Answering a question from Vice on the grossest parts of planes besides the bathroom, she revealed, “It’s the same potable [safe to drink] water that goes through the bathroom system.
“We recently had a test for E. coli in our water and it didn’t pass, and then maintenance came on and hit a couple buttons and it passed.
“So, avoid any hot water or tea. Bottled and ice is fine, of course.”
EasyJet was contacted by FEMAIL Food & Drink and confirmed that the water stored on aeroplanes was indeed used for making coffee and tea, and flushing the toilet.
But a spokesperson for the airline allayed fears by saying, “There is absolutely no chance of any cross-contamination due to the system’s plumbing design.
“This is common place amongst most aircraft manufacturers and airlines. Fresh water is loaded onto the aircraft daily.”
Sadly it seems that those water tanks are not known for their high level of cleanliness. When Travel + Leisure magazine spoke to an American Airlines flight attendant, she mentioned that the tanks “are probably only cleaned out every six months to a year”.
To make matters worse, it seems that even the coffee pots themselves aren’t exactly winning any cleanliness awards.
A 2016 AskReddit thread gave an insight into the cleanliness of the pots from people who claimed to work for airlines.
“The coffee is absolutely disgusting because no one washes the container that goes out every morning,” said one alleged airline employee. “The station agents who get paid way too little don't give a s*** about cleaning it. I certainly didn't when I worked for [redacted].
“Also, because we weren't given the proper supplies to clean it. We pretty much just rinsed it out and dumped coffee into it,” they added.
Bottled water anyone? Will this change your mind about what you order to drink on your next flight?