A flight attendant has gone viral after she issued a warning to passengers to make sure they don’t consume certain things mid-flight as it can end up making you unwell
Aeroplane food might not be Michelin-starred, but it’s a welcome sight when hunger strikes at 35,000 feet.
Yet, there’s one thing you should steer clear of after your in-flight meal, according to a flight attendant’s stark warning.
Kat Kamalani, gaining internet fame for her travel tips, recently went viral with a video cautioning flyers about the beverages served on planes.
The TikTok clip, which has racked up over half a million likes, features Kat advising: “Don’t you ever, ever, ever consume these products from an airplane, from a flight attendant! Rule number one never consume any liquid that is not in a can or a bottle.”
She reveals a rather unsavoury fact about onboard water tanks, adding: “The reason being is because those water tanks are never cleaned and they are disgusting. Talk to a flight attendant.
“We rarely rarely drink the coffee or tea. They come from the same water tank. And so when you’re drinking that coffee and tea come from that hot water and it’s absolutely disgusting.”
Kat also points out that the coffee machines are seldom sanitised unless they malfunction. “These little coffee guys, they are rarely cleaned unless they are broken,” she said. “These guys are taken out and cleaned in between flights, but the whole machine is never cleaned and they’re by the lavatories.”
For those travelling with babies and needing warm water for formula, Kat suggests a workaround. She went on to say: “Pro tip for all you parents: never ask for hot water and put it in your baby’s bottle.
“Ask for a bottle of water on the side and hot water in a cup” she added. “Then make your baby a bottle with the bottled water. Put it in the cup and heat it up.”
The TikTok clip left users gobsmacked as they flocked to the comments section to debate the warning. One user quipped: ” Ah that’s why my hot Chocolate was rank.”
Another dismissed her, saying: “She has no idea what she is talking about. Water tanks are sterilized on a regular basis,” while another suggested: “So clean the water tanks? ” A fourth wrote: “You guys should clean them. Seriously that’s messed up “.
The tap water in an aeroplane comes from water stored in the aircraft’s tanks. These tanks are filled at various airports around the world.
The safety of this water can vary depending on the cleanliness of the tank, the quality of the water that was loaded, and the maintenance practices of the airline.
There have been concerns and studies about the microbiological quality of tap water served on aeroplanes. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has guidelines for water quality and the sanitization of aircraft water systems under the Aircraft Drinking Water Rule (ADWR).
However, adherence to these standards can differ, and there have been instances where contaminants have been found in onboard water, as reported by Time. As a safety measure, many travellers and health experts recommend not drinking tap water from the aeroplane’s lavatory sinks, or avoiding coffee or tea made with this water unless it has been fully boiled.
