Recently, a flight attendant named Kat Kamalani made a TikTok to convince people never to ask for anything on a plane that has hot water.
Suggesting only canned or bottled beverages, Kat said that most flight attendants rarely drink coffee or tea on planes themselves, since both are made with the same hot water from the coffee maker machines which, according to her, "are rarely cleaned unless they are broken."
Her video has received nearly 3 million views, and people have been discussing this topic ever since it aired.
Flight attendant Kat Kamalani thinks passengers should never ask for anything on a plane that has hot water
Image credits: Kat Kamalani
Image credits: Kat Kamalani
Image credits: Kat Kamalani
Image credits: Kat Kamalani
Image credits: Kat Kamalani
Image credits: Kat Kamalani
Image credits: Kat Kamalani
Image credits: Kat Kamalani
"I've been a flight attendant for almost 6 years!" Kat told Bored Panda. "You just learn these things while flying for your job"
"I would advise people to try to bring their own water and snacks if they are flying! Especially if they have a certain diet restriction."
Image credits: Kat Kamalani
Image credits: Kat Kamalani
Image credits: Kat Kamalani
Image credits: Kat Kamalani
Image credits: Kat Kamalani
Image credits: Kat Kamalani
An aircraft flies to numerous destinations and may pump drinking water into its tanks from different sources at both domestic and international locations. The water quality onboard also depends on the safety of the equipment used to transfer the water, such as water cabinets, trucks, carts, and hoses.
Unhealthy water violates the federal government's Aircraft Drinking Water Rule (ADWR), which was implemented in 2011 and requires airlines to provide passengers and flight crew with safe drinking water.
And it appears to be working. The number of ADWR violations by all airlines in 2018 was significantly less than the number in 2012, the first year after the ADWR was enacted. For major airlines, violations have decreased 69% (262 to 81), while violations among regional airlines have decreased 71% (351 to 103). However, some experts think the decrease might reflect a lack of enforcement by the EPA, which has issued few penalties in recent years.
A 2019 airline water study, for example, reported that many airlines continue to violate the ADWR.
And every now and then, water samples test positive for E. coli and coliform bacteria. JetBlue and Spirit — the major airlines that performed worst in the study — had a high number of ADWR violations.
"To be extra safe," the researchers said the same thing Kat did in her TikTok: travelers should not drink coffee or tea on board, and "never drink any water on board that isn't in a sealed bottle." After using the bathroom, they also suggest travelers use hand-sanitizer.
Here's what people said after watching her video
