While a caffeine boost might hit the spot mid-flight, you may want to spend the extra few bucks at the airport Starbucks before boarding.
In a TikTok video, former flight attendant Kat Kamalani claims that flyers should avoid ordering coffee or tea on airplanes, and to “never consume any liquid that is not in a can or a bottle.” Why? As Kamalani puts it, airplane water tanks “are never cleaned,” and are only cleaned “if they are broken.” If that’s not reason enough to pass on those hot drinks, these tanks are usually positioned right next to the bathrooms, and are the same ones that supply the plane’s bathroom sink water, according to a 2019 study by CUNY’s Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center.
The same study revealed just how nasty in-flight water can be. Researchers analyzed tap water on 10 major and 12 regional airlines, and prescribed “water health scores” to each ranging from five (best) to zero (worst). The scores were based on 10 criteria — which included Aircraft Drinking Water Rule (ADWR) violations and positive E. coli and coliform water sample reports — and any score higher than 3 indicated clean drinking water. Of the 10 major airlines surveyed, seven received a score lower than 3, with JetBlue and Spirit Airlines in dead last. The results from the regional airlines weren’t any better: 11 out of 12 scored below the 3 threshold.
In spite of the stats, several flight attendants and aircraft mechanics took to the video’s comment section to call blasphemy on the supposed negligence. “Im an aircraft mechanic, and what ever airline you work for I’m sorry, because WE DO clean those tanks and coffee pots ON TOP OF it,” one account commented.
Either way, it can’t hurt to stick to bottled water if you get thirsty. And the next time you crave a little caffeine at 35,000 feet, maybe settle for a can of Coke.
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