While a caffeine boost might hit the spot mid-flight, you may want to spend the extra few bucks at the airport Starbucks before boarding.
In a TikTok video, former flight attendant Kat Kamalani claims that flyers should avoid ordering coffee or tea on airplanes, and to “never consume any liquid that is not in a can or a bottle.” Why? As Kamalani puts it, airplane water tanks “are never cleaned,” and are only cleaned “if they are broken.” If that’s not reason enough to pass on those hot drinks, these tanks are usually positioned right next to the bathrooms, and are the same ones that supply the plane’s bathroom sink water, according to a 2019 study by CUNY’s Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center.
