Test results from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show that in 2012, 12 percent of commercial airplanes in the United States — that’s about one in every 10 planes — tested positive for coliform bacteria, which is usually an indicator of other sickness-inducing bacteria like E. coli.
Or, in other words: “There’s poop in the water if there’s E. coli in the water, and that’s not a good thing," Brenda Wiles, a lab manager certified to test drinking water aboard aircraft, told NBC 5.
The results were made public after Dallas’ NBC 5 requested reports from the EPA through a Freedom of Information Act Request. Coliform, though not necessarily harmful on its own, normally indicates the presence of E. coli, which can cause abdominal cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea if ingested. The EPA put a major initiative in place to reduce the amount of bacteria in plane water after 15 percent of planes tested positive for coliform in 2004. But nine years later, it seems the problem persists.
I fly once or twice a year and I thought the airlines provide bottle water? The only “tap” water is the hot water they use to make tea and coffee as they are poured from a pot.
I’ve drank glasses of ice water poured from a pitcher but I don’t recall that happening for quite a few years. The last several times I flew, I was provided a glass of ice with a bottle of water. I prefer, however, to either have a beer or Gin & Tonic when I fly.
“While passengers may decide to opt for a bottled water instead of drinking tap on their next flight, Honker echoes the AFA’s sentiments, saying the industry knows the problem and is paying close attention to address it.”
It appears some airlines use their water supplies as drinking water. I have been served from a pitcher of water on flights before. I have also had it from a bottle. Not sure what % of airlines use on board supplies vs bottled.
My dad worked for Delta Airlines (aircraft maintenance) in Atlanta for 35 years; retired and went back as a contractor. He would always warn us before we took a trip not to drink the water. This was back in '80’s.
So as a kid it was coke and as an adult I added Jim Beam…
The water in the Lav’s on pretty much every airplane now say “do not drink” or “not for human consumption”.
We routinely have the water in the lav out of service for testing to high for fecal coloform(or however its spelled).
I wont even wash my hands with it personally, the airplanes generally have alcohol hand sanitizer wipes you can use if you ask.
Airplane cabins are cleaned every night typically(vacuum, wipe down seats, tray tables, overheads, etc…), but never sanitized. It takes an act of God(i.e. somebody shit/vomitted all over the lav) to get somebody to come out and scrub the inside of the lav. I see people all the time walking into the lav in just socks and I have heard of people going in barefoot. NASTY. I took a 2 hour delay a few years ago to wait for a guy in a hazmat suit to come clean a case of “nuclear explosive diarrhea” up in the lav.
Even the water tanks used for the coffee can get nasty, but it gets heated up above boiling(supposedly) so it kills anything in it. Ive never gotten sick from drinking airplane coffee and I think I am on cup # 3 million or something like that. Now the inside of the coffee pots, thats another story, YUCK.
All drinking water that the FA’s serve will be bottled anymore. We carry a metric TON of it. Even in first class where they may serve out of a pitcher(I havent seen that in years though, but I dont do international where the REAL first class service takes place) it will be bottled.
