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How safe is the drinking water, or the coffee or tea on foreign and domestic airlines?


Posted by Ivars R.

How safe is the drinking water, or the coffee or tea on foreign and domestic airlines?

By some reports, 15% of airline flights have contaminated water. And talking with several frequent flyers, they all attest that they will never drink anything on a plane unless they can see that it comes from an unopened container.

By some accounts, the water on ground level needs to be boiled for only one minute, but on airplanes in flight, it needs to be boiled for five to six minutes.

The flights that originate in a foreign country are locally serviced, and the water tanks are filled with local water. When the flights arrive in the US, the airlines may add some water, but the original water supply is essentially what is used on subsequent trips. So if the water is not properly boiled, then a person consuming that water, tea, or coffee, could be exposed to whatever contaminates may be in the water. This is of particular concern when flights originate in countries where we have been told not to consume the local water.

What has been your experience when flying? How do you avoid water contamination, and what do you do to brush your teeth or wash your hands with water that may be contaminated?

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I have not had a problem with tihs before, but I'll be asking for the whole can of Diet Coke next time! (Or better yet, taking my own water.)
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