Many reasons to consider ordering ice water on the plane

Ice on airplanes contains many bacteria that are harmful to humans - Photo: GETTY IMAGES

The main reason is believed to be that the ice on the plane is very dirty.

According to a study published in the scientific journal Annals of Microbiology in 2017, ice on airplanes is often supplied by third parties.

Scientists tested 60 ice samples from suppliers and found more than 50 different strains of bacteria.

"The number of microorganisms in ice that cause infections in humans and pollute the environment accounts for a significant proportion," they added.

And that's not all; the ice trays on airplanes aren't as clean as we might think.

In 2017, a Reddit user claiming to be a flight attendant spoke out about the issue. This account advised passengers absolutely: “Do not put ice in drinks, do not drink coffee, tea, or hot water on the plane, and do not touch anything in the restroom with your bare hands.”

We were scooping ice water into trays that weren't cleaned regularly. Every surface on the plane was touched by hundreds of passengers every day and hadn't been disinfected. We didn't even have a chance to wash our hands when serving drinks.”

Verna Montalvo, a cabin cleaner, told The Washington Post in 2023: "Some flight attendants are very annoyed because (the ice) isn't clean."

However, they had no other choice due to time and manpower constraints. Ms. Montalvo said that the crew only had 5 minutes to inspect and clean the entire plane, so cleaning the ice trays was impossible.

The filtered water on airplanes also poses many health risks. According to a 2019 report by the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center at New York University (USA), the drinking water of 11 out of 12 airlines surveyed in the region was unsafe for human consumption.

Scientists assessed the safety of filtered water based on 10 different criteria, with scores ranging from 0 to 5 (5 being the highest). The results showed that 7 out of 10 major US airlines scored below 3.

"The lesson I learned from doing the research is to avoid drinking coffee and tea (on airplanes) in general," Dr. Charles Platkin, executive director of the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center, told the travel website Travel + Leisure .

Mr. Platkin said that he didn't wash his hands but only used a self-prepared wipe because the water in the airplane's restroom was too contaminated.

Of course, the quality of water and cleaning procedures on airplanes vary between airlines, and not all airlines have this problem. Therefore, passengers should consider this. Some recommendations suggest that if you can't enjoy drinks without ice, you can order alcoholic or carbonated drinks. Studies show that some ingredients in these drinks minimize the impact of bacteria in ice.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nhieu-ly-do-de-can-nhac-viec-goi-nuoc-kem-da-lanh-tren-may-bay-2024022913300055.htm