Next Time You Fly, Don't Order The Coffee

Personally, I'm a big fan of airplane food — though I'm well aware of the fact that most people find it to be disgusting and of questionable origins, but I've always been one to purchase that $18 turkey sandwich that comes with an ice cube-sized brownie. But also being someone who loves to find out the disgusting secrets behind the things I love, my interest was piqued when I read an article written by a former flight attendant who explains the reasons why you should never drink airplane coffee. Apparently, among a list of other cautionary anecdotes, airline-worker-turned travel blogger Kelly Payne explained recently to the Huffington Post that the coffee you're served on the plane is not exactly the cleanest.

See, there are only two water valves on the plane, one for the toilet and one for drinking water. But that water comes from the same lackluster quality supply. While you might want to believe that they the water that goes into your coffee was filtered or came from a name brand water bottle, it did not. Kelly tells Bustle,

"...When the plane gets serviced at each stop, there is a guy that hooks up a hose to dispose of the lavatory waste from the bathrooms on the plane. He also hooks up a hose to refill our water supply. The “holes” are fairly close to each other and done by the same service man…usually at the same time. Granted, the lavatory waste should never come in contact with the clean water as they are using separate hoses…but if the hose doesn’t link up properly and the guy gets some on his hands …wipes them off….and then hooks up the other hose for the water…..you get where I’m going."

So do yourself a favor and the next time you have a hankering for coffee on a flight — fight it. Or just get yourself some coffee from the airport before you board. It might not be free, but it will be fecal free and I think we can all agree that that's the better option.

Technically, the fact that they use the same water for coffee that they do for the toilet is not that crazy. There are probably more places than we'd like to think about that have only one grade of water. Just because it comes from the same source, doesn't mean there's any contamination. It's not like they're using the water that's already been flushed. That would be a whole different kind of news story. It's more of a reminder that the water is not held the the highest standard on airplanes as it's not typically used for anything other than washing and flushing.

Kelly's advice doesn't end there though. She's created a list of 11 airline secrets to share with frequent flyers or curious cats regarding the reasons behind all the crazy rules and regulations enforced in flight. Spoiler alert: they're all for your safety. If you're interested in learning more tips and tricks about airlines, head over to Kelly's blog Live Simple, Travel Well.

Image: Santiago Urquijo/Moment/Getty Images, Giphy