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A flight attendant has shared the reason why it is not recommended for passengers to consume the coffee served during flights.
Kevin, also known as @ichbinvin on TikTok, posted a new video discussing responses to a Reddit post that asked flight attendants to share secrets from their industry. He began by reading a comment from a pilot who advised against drinking coffee on flights due to the infrequent cleaning of water tanks used to make the coffee.
In his video, Kevin expressed his distaste for plain coffee and advised travelers to arrive at the airport 10 minutes earlier to purchase coffee in the terminal instead. However, the flight attendant claims he doesn’t drink coffee on flights due to concerns about the water tanks.
“He mentioned that the infrequency of tank cleaning in the water system should not be your main worry,” he stated. “Personally, I’ve always found it odd that flight attendants are responsible for cleaning coffee pots. We’re instructed to avoid pouring the contents down the drain and instead must dispose of it in the toilet.”
He reiterated that the process of cleaning the coffee pot, which involves pouring the coffee into a toilet, may not be entirely hygienic.
The speaker explained that when pouring coffee from a pot into a toilet, one must be careful to avoid causing a mess. However, this may still result in potentially harmful particles and bacteria being transferred back into the coffee maker.
Kevin mentioned that he would only drink regular drip coffee on airplanes if they had a Nespresso machine available.
The video of the flight attendant has rapidly become popular, garnering over 161,800 views as of December 1st. In the comments, numerous individuals expressed their honest thoughts on Kevin’s allegations regarding the cleaning of the coffee pots.
One person commented that the coffee was making them cry, and another joked that they preferred ginger ale over coffee or tea.
Another person commented, “Thank you for your service, I will never drink airplane coffee again!”
The Independent has reached out to Kevin for a response.
This is not the initial instance of a flight attendant expressing their opinion on the coffee served onboard. In a TikTok video from last year, ex-flight attendant Kat Kamalani listed various actions she would refrain from doing while on a flight. She made it clear that she would never consume hot water on a plane, ruling out coffee and tea as drink choices.
In January 2021, she shared a video where she mentioned that the “water tanks” and “hot coffee” machines are infrequently cleaned.
“At the time, she expressed her disgust with the water tanks that are never cleaned. She also mentioned that they rarely consume coffee or tea due to the fact that they use the same water tank, making the hot beverages taste revolting.”
In recent years, research has investigated the water tanks used for preparing coffee and tea during flights. In 2019, the Food Policy Center at CUNY’s Hunter College conducted a study on airline water, ranking 11 major and 12 regional airlines based on the quality of water provided on their flights.
The findings revealed that Alaska Airlines and Allegiant were ranked as having the safest drinking water on flights. In contrast, JetBlue and Spirit Airlines received low scores for their onboard water quality. The ratings were determined by 10 factors such as fleet size, compliance with the government’s Aircraft Drinking Water Rule, and reports of E. coli and coliform bacteria in water samples.
Source: independent.co.uk
