A man has a public service announcement for people who drink coffee on airplanes: don’t.
Influencer Joseph Maine (@joseph.maine) says he was on a recent flight when a flight attendant delivered a revelation that may change what he orders on planes.
Striding through an airport, Maine says, “OK, major shout out to the flight attendant that just kept it real with me on this flight.”
He says that when the flight attendant came around, he ordered a black coffee like he “always” does.
“I love their little black instant coffee,” he says.
His seatmate was appalled. He’d seen a video claiming that the water used for coffee on planes is disgusting, moldy even, Maine says in a TikTok about the experience.
When the flight attendant returned with his coffee, he says he asked her to “level” with him.
“Is this made from nasty water?” he asked. “She was like, ‘Oh yeah, you want me to throw it away?’”
The flight attendant also said she doesn’t eat or drink anything on a plane that isn’t prepackaged.
“‘It’s nasty and they never clean it,'” she purportedly said.
“So maybe everyone already knew this, but hot tip,” Maine says in the clip.
Is airplane coffee really bad?
His TikTok stirred serious controversy. Some said they, too, eschew the water. But many, among them many self-identified people with experience in the airline industry, jumped to the defense of the tap water served on planes.
His post has 129,000 views as of this writing. Maine declined to comment other than to ask the Mary Sue to share more information due to the significant amount of disagreement in the comments.
“Former ground crew here: The water storage is accessed from under the plane. It is flushed and refilled by ground crew,” one person wrote. “It is thoroughly disinfected at least quarterly and tested regularly for bacteria.”
They also said that flight attendants aren’t in a position to know anything about the water tanks.
“The FAs have nothing to do with it and aren’t generally anywhere near the plane when it happens,” they continued. “How would they know?”
Current and former pilots and flight attendants, as well as frequent fliers, said they regularly drink coffee or tea on planes without issue.
“That FA is spreading the usual myth that all FA’S hear in training. The water tanks are cleaned, the water boils as it exits the tanks before it comes out,” another water tank defender said. “You know how many people would be sick daily if the tanks really weren’t cleaned?”
What does the data say?
While there was no shortage of people eager to defend water on planes, some data doesn’t paint quite as sanitary a picture.
Travel + Leisure reports that a 2004 Environmental Protection Agency sample of planes’ drinking water found that 13% had coliform bacteria. Two purportedly had dangerous levels of E. coli in the drinking water.
A widely cited 2019 study by the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center at the City University of New York and DietDetective.com backs up these findings. Researchers analyzed the drinking water on 23 airlines, 11 major and 12 regional.
Each was given a rating of between five (cleanest) and zero (dirtiest).
“Several factors were taken into consideration, including fleet size and positive E. coli and coliform water sample reports,” Travel + Leisure reports. “Any score above three indicated relatively clean drinking water, according to the study.”
Seven of the major airlines reportedly had scores of under three.
The study concluded that it’s safest to avoid the drinking water on planes—unless it’s bottled.
The water could be fine; drink at your own risk. That is, unless you feel that a little bacteria adds something to the experience.
“I think the mold gives it a robust flavor,” one joked.
@joseph.maine #travel #traveltips #frequentflier ♬ original sound – Joseph Maine
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