Airline water and beverage rules — Drink bottled water, no alcohol, and no caffeine


Airline water is often polluted.


United Airlines flight landing at Philadelphia International Airport. Copyright © 2015 NSL Photography. All Rights Reserved.I don’t know about you, but while flying, I like to stay hydrated with cold bottled water plus, occasionally, tomato juice. If I eat on a flight, usually food brought from home or prepared at my hotel, while I’d love to have a nice cup of English Breakfast tea to finish the meal, I stick with bottled water. I skip the tea because there are too many questions about whether or not airline water in commercial airplanes, used to make onboard coffee and tea, is safe to drink.

In 2004, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a study about airline water, based on sampling the tap water of 158 aircraft. EPA found that the drinking water in almost 13 percent of U.S. commercial aircraft tested positive for various forms of bacteria, including coliform and E. coli. The water in those planes failed to meet EPA standards.

The EPA Standards

In 2009, EPA promulgated their Aircraft Drinking Water Rule. The airline water rule was and is a major step forward, but it has problems. Under it, the airlines have great latitude to set their own procedures for testing, flushing and cleaning tanks. One of my concerns is that each aircraft’s tap water system must be inspected by the airlines for bacteria just once per year.

Only testing airline water once per year gives me pause, as problem bacteria has more than three hundred opportunities during the year to be transported to each plane when their tanks are refilled with local water.

Airlines for America, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group representing the largest airlines in the U.S. has stated, “water received from municipalities for onboard systems is safe.” That’s generally true in the U.S., but what if you were flying on American, United, or Delta out of Flint, Michigan’s Bishop International Airport?

I wouldn’t drink municipal water from Flint! Would you?

That’s not the end of airline water issues. A 2015 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, stated that more microorganisms exist in the water transport vehicles than in the water’s original source. Hence, my concern that during the year, between tests, the planes’ water tanks can become significantly contaminated.

In addition, at some locations, the local water quality standards, particularly in some countries with lax water regulations, may be substandard.

The water the airlines generally give to passengers is bottled water. It should be safe. The ice is typically provided to planes in one-use bags of ice made locally and should be safe if the local water used to make the ice is safe. Again, think about Flint.

What about boiling water for coffee and tea?

Of course, boiling water can kill bacteria. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “Boiling can be used as a pathogen reduction method that should kill all pathogens. Water should be brought to a rolling boil for one minute.”

That’s at sea level where the temperature of boiling water is 212°F. At 8,000 feet, the pressurization altitude of most aircraft cabins, water boils at 196°F. That means that to effectively kill pathogens in water, the water must be boiled for 4–5 minutes. As an air traveler, I don’t think we can count on the water for coffee and tea being boiled for that long in preparation for brewing.

There’s another issue with coffee and tea, as well as some other beverages.

Beware diuretics.

Coffee, tea and other beverages containing caffeine are diuretics. While caffeine is an energy booster for most people, it also encourages our bodies to urinate more frequently. On aircraft with a shortage of lavatories and periodic long waits for access to lavatories, a frequent need to urinate can be a major pain in the neck.

Speaking of diuretics, alcohol is also one. According to Professor Oliver James, head of Clinical Medical Sciences at Newcastle University, UK, “It acts on the kidneys to make you pee out much more than you take in, which is why you need to go to the toilet so often when you drink.” Switching from wine to more alcoholic drinks, by the way, won’t reduce an air passenger’s need to urinate, because it’s the alcoholic content of the drink, not its volume, that’s the problem.

So, what is safe and sensible to drink while flying?

I never drink coffee or tea while flying or anything else made from the plane’s tap water. I drink bottled water while flying. On a long flight, I usually drink several bottles of water. According to where my flight originated, I may use ice or skip it on my flight. According to physicians, anyone with a compromised immune system should definitely avoid any beverage made using a plane’s tap water.

I avoid caffeinated beverages while flying. I generally skip all alcoholic beverages while aloft, too. In addition to bottled water, I drink tomato juice. Its savory flavor comes through while other beverages are virtually tasteless at 30,000 feet.

Image: United Airlines flight landing at Philadelphia International Airport – Copyright © 2015 NSL Photography. All Rights Reserved.

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