Jan. 11, 2026
New Airline Water Study: No More Coffee or Tea… And Don’t Wash Your Hands
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RSS Feed The Center for Food as Medicine & Longevity has just released its latest 3 year study on the quality of water on board airplanes, and the results and recommendations are disturbing. The study ranks water quality by airline, from best to worst, and says nearly all airlines need to make some changes to address bacteria found in some samples. Amy and T.J. go over the findings and add a little perspective from a microbiologist after the break.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
00:00:11
Speaker 1: Welcome every one.
00:00:12
Speaker 2: It is Sunday, January eleventh, and a news study says, the next time you fly on an airplane, do not drink the coffee, do not drink the tea, and don't wash your hands in.
00:00:27
Speaker 1: The bathroom on your next flight.
00:00:30
Speaker 2: DJ I believe I have done all three of the above pretty much every time I get on a flight.
00:00:37
Speaker 3: I just drink alcohol. And I never washed my hands in the bathroom anyway, So I'm good. Really, I'm kidding. Obviously, I wash my damn hands. But no, I don't drink water. I don't drink anything but usually a mimosa and bloody mary.
00:00:50
Speaker 4: When I fly.
00:00:50
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:00:51
Speaker 1: Wait, you don't usually get tea. I guess I don't see you do that.
00:00:53
Speaker 4: No, it's hot. Why would you want to hot liquid on an airplane?
00:00:57
Speaker 2: I do like a coffee. But that is about to change. The director of this study, they came from the Center for Food as Medicine and Longevity.
00:01:07
Speaker 1: This was his quote.
00:01:09
Speaker 2: Nearly all regional airlines need to improve their onboard water safety.
00:01:15
Speaker 1: That is alarming. I never it makes sense.
00:01:19
Speaker 2: We'll get into the meat of it and why it is the way it is. But what they found is incredibly alarming, but I never considered not washing my hands. It says they're on a sign on the mirror, please wash your hands before returning to your seat.
00:01:36
Speaker 3: Okay, the sign doesn't need to be there anyway. For the first of all, nobody should have to be told to wash your damn hands. You should have been told this since you were a child, so this shouldn't be there. Next, they give you the wipes right as soon as you get on the plane. Now they hand you those little sanitary wipes and telling you to use your hands. To use those in your hands, so there are options. And I'm curious if this is a headlineman to scare the hell out of all of us or we are in real danger.
00:02:02
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm actually surprised because I thought that soap when you obviously, if you just ran your hands under the water, I understand maybe you're susceptible to any bacteria that could be in the water. But I always believed that if I use the soap, which I do, that that gets rid of the bacteria. And I thought that using too much hand sanitizer gets rid of good bacteria. It dries out your hand, so I tend to avoid hand sanitizer. So this is a shocking headline to me.
00:02:31
Speaker 3: Uh No, I mean, I guess, I mean it makes sense if you doesn't matter what you put on your hand, if you're rinsing the soap off with shit water, then your hands are going to be dirty.
00:02:44
Speaker 2: Okay, So you just kind of nailed what this study found. So researchers they surveyed more than thirty five thousand water samples from ten major airlines and eleven regional airlines.
00:02:57
Speaker 1: And they did this over a three year period.
00:03:00
Speaker 2: So this was from October of twenty twenty two until September of twenty twenty five.
00:03:05
Speaker 1: That is significant, three years, thirty.
00:03:08
Speaker 2: Five thousand samples. I'm listening to what this survey found. That seems pretty comprehensive.
00:03:15
Speaker 4: Okay, And what did they find?
00:03:17
Speaker 1: Okay?
00:03:18
Speaker 2: Well, first off, they found that two point seven percent of all the samples tested positive for coliform and so coloform.
00:03:27
Speaker 1: What is that.
00:03:28
Speaker 2: It's a group of bacteria that signals potential contamination by disease causing germs.
00:03:34
Speaker 1: So it's a.
00:03:36
Speaker 2: Group of bacteria that bad bacteria, bacteria that makes you sick. Bacteria was found in nearly three percent of all samples.
00:03:45
Speaker 1: That's fairly significant.
00:03:49
Speaker 4: Okay, but it found what is this stuff?
00:03:52
Speaker 1: Okay?
00:03:53
Speaker 2: So coliform bacteria. Basically, if that is present in the water, that indicates that they're are disease causing organisms, pathogens in that water. And so if you wash your hands with that water and then say, rub your eyes or somehow put your hands in your mouth or somewhere in some orifice where that could go into your body, you likely and possibly could get pretty sick.
00:04:23
Speaker 4: Wait, likely or possibly those are two different things.
00:04:25
Speaker 1: That's true, that's true.
00:04:26
Speaker 2: It depends on how much is on your hands, It depends on what your gut health is. There's a lot of things that go into it. But how about this, if this lands for you, Of the twenty one airlines surveyed, E Coli was found thirty two times.
00:04:41
Speaker 4: So wait, you say it again.
00:04:43
Speaker 2: They said, of the twenty one airline surveyed, E Coli was found thirty two times.
00:04:48
Speaker 1: So E Coli.
00:04:49
Speaker 2: That is something that is a pathogen, that is a bacteria that should be pretty.
00:04:55
Speaker 1: Familiar to most of us at this point.
00:04:56
Speaker 2: When you hear about cruise ships having to turn around because everyone sick with norovirus, that's from E.
00:05:02
Speaker 1: Coli.
00:05:03
Speaker 2: Anytime you have a major ground beefree call where people get really sick, violently ill.
00:05:08
Speaker 1: That's E coli.
00:05:10
Speaker 2: So when we talk about coliform, the most obvious thing there was E coli, which when you said shit water, that's what that is.
00:05:18
Speaker 3: And how much are they are there suggestions that people have been getting sick?
00:05:23
Speaker 4: Nobody, I mean, it sounds gross.
00:05:24
Speaker 3: Nobody wants to think this stuff is on your hands and you're putting it in your water or you're touching your eye and not a die. But I mean, is this stuff enough? This is what I was literally about to pick up my phone and text your dad, because this is why I need to, like, I need a little more expertise to understand how much danger, how much of a threat this stuff is, because it's scary as hell when you see the headline.
00:05:41
Speaker 2: We should get him on about this because there is somebody he has traveled his whole life extensively, and.
00:05:47
Speaker 1: He's always given me tips on how not to get sick.
00:05:50
Speaker 2: I've never heard him tell me don't wash your hands in the bathroom of an airplane. So that's why I'm a little surprised because I hadn't heard this before.
00:05:57
Speaker 1: And here's the deal.
00:05:58
Speaker 2: If you get sick, babe, after you come back from a trip, say the next day, you have you're in the bathroom longer than you want to be, or you've got some.
00:06:06
Speaker 1: Issues, some stomach issues. What's the first thing? You're gonna blame something?
00:06:10
Speaker 2: Eight something you ate, And especially if you were traveling somewhere, you're gonna be like, oh man, it might have been the ice or the ice cream, or that salad I had, or something that was uncooked.
00:06:23
Speaker 1: You're going to blame your last meal. I can't imagine.
00:06:26
Speaker 2: And I've never looked back and thought, oh, well, I was on a plane, maybe the water got me.
00:06:31
Speaker 1: Never did I think that.
00:06:32
Speaker 4: But is it possible that it did? That's my question.
00:06:35
Speaker 1: Yes, the answer is yes, And so here is.
00:06:38
Speaker 2: And this is kind of interesting because we have our feelings about airlines based on our experiences, but they actually ranked US airlines based on their water levels, like their level of contamination or lack thereof. So the top airlines were Delta and Frontier, they got A ratings the low airlines. The worst airlines were American Jet Blue and Spirit. And I can actually go through and give you the onboard water rankings.
00:07:08
Speaker 1: Would you like them?
00:07:09
Speaker 4: Sure?
00:07:10
Speaker 2: This is from again their most recent three year study that just wrapped in the fall of twenty twenty five, and this is their big rollout about what they found. So five is the best, zero is the worst. Okay, Delta Airlines got a five. That feels pretty good. They got a Grade A. Frontier Airlines got a four point eight, Alaska Airlines got a three point eight five.
00:07:33
Speaker 1: They got a Grade B.
00:07:35
Speaker 2: Allegiant air three point sixty five that gave them a B. Southwest Airlines got a three point three.
00:07:41
Speaker 1: They're at a C.
00:07:43
Speaker 2: Hawaiian Airlines got a three point one five. That's a Grade C. United Airlines two point seven sneaking in a Grade C.
00:07:52
Speaker 1: But now we have those who failed Grade d's.
00:07:55
Speaker 2: Spirit Airlines had a two point h five, Jet Blue had a one point eight, and American Airlines had a one point seventy five.
00:08:04
Speaker 4: How do they come up with those numbers?
00:08:06
Speaker 2: That was based on their water quality, So they talked about the presence of coliform, any potential contamination, just the quality of the water based on their tests.
00:08:18
Speaker 1: That was the rankings. And they did this again or earlier.
00:08:22
Speaker 2: The last time they came out with rankings was in twenty nineteen and delta was at the bottom, so they have made improvement since then.
00:08:29
Speaker 1: And airlines do tend to.
00:08:31
Speaker 2: Take this type of study, and especially knowing that it's being publicized, and they do tend to make adjustments based on it. So they right now, I know none of us want to just rely and cross our fingers and hope that the airlines do better. They, alongside these results, give very clear recommendations for passengers. Their first recommendation passengers should be extra cautious.
00:08:56
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, I'm going to be now. I don't think I was before.
00:09:00
Speaker 3: What though, I mean, what are you supposed to just not drink? I mean, if they this is boiling hot water and coffee, am I supposed to be worried about it too?
00:09:06
Speaker 1: And see that's why I thought it was okay. I thought because the water is not they are.
00:09:11
Speaker 2: They are suggesting first of all, that passengers should not drink any water that isn't sealed in a bottle. It feels like you're going onto a third world country. It's almost as if you walk onto that plane and you have to assume you're in a third world country where you can't trust the drinking water, which I've never done or operated when I went on to an airplane. Number two, it recommends not drinking coffee or tea on board a flight.
00:09:35
Speaker 1: They didn't specify why, but.
00:09:36
Speaker 2: I would I would gather that it's because you can't be sure that the water got hot enough. You can't be sure that it got to a boiling point that actually basically got rid of any potential pathogens. Look, when I make coffee in a third world country, I do use bottled water. So I guess that would make sense because you don't know that that coffee pot or the way they made the tea or the coffee actually got hot enough, so that I guess that makes sense.
00:10:08
Speaker 4: Okay, I hope the study doesn't have anything in there about prosecco.
00:10:13
Speaker 2: Actually, yes, I actually think alcohol is one of the things you can trust. Although I do have questions in terms of like the glasses, is it better to use the plastic stuff versus the glass Where that they have where has that been washed? Was that washed in the same water. I don't know how they do dishes on board a plane. I'm not sure if they run it through the dishwater. Now, like I'm thinking, man, maybe we should just prefer the plastic cups.
00:10:35
Speaker 3: I hear that, but all this and you and I fly more than anybody.
00:10:39
Speaker 4: Yeah, I've never gotten sick.
00:10:40
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, look, it's they're saying, it's kind of like a roulette. You don't know, but you are increasing your odds at getting sick by drinking the coffee, by drinking the tea, and by washing your hands.
00:10:53
Speaker 1: You are putting yourself at risk.
00:10:57
Speaker 2: It doesn't ensure you're going to get sick, but it is risky behavior.
00:11:00
Speaker 3: What does the sign say in the bathroom you said about washing your hands.
00:11:04
Speaker 1: Says please wash hands before returning to seat.
00:11:06
Speaker 3: Okay, next plane, I'm on, I'm gonna take a sharpie and put not do not wash your hands.
00:11:14
Speaker 2: And now I am actually gonna go get some I'm gonna go get some hand sanitizer for our next trip. Because, yes, that recommendation. I think that's the biggest one for me. I can understand the coffee and tea, I guess, but I still have had coffee plenty of times on I would say almost every time I'm on a plane, I probably have a cup of coffee at least fifty percent of the time. Yeah, so you should use hand sanitizer with at least sixty percent alcohol instead of washing your hands in the plane's bathroom. That is the biggest change of behavior for me. But this is actually and they talked about the health consequences you asked E.
00:11:50
Speaker 1: Coli.
00:11:51
Speaker 2: They say, basically, you were talking about acute gas stro intestinal illness.
00:11:55
Speaker 1: That's that's what you're trying to avoid.
00:11:58
Speaker 3: Wait a minute, I am trying to still understand. There were two things you said, E coline something else was in the water.
00:12:05
Speaker 4: Well, the.
00:12:08
Speaker 2: Coliform is what they test for, and then when they do a deeper dive they can determine E. Coli was among the pathogens. So I'm not obviously, I'm not a microbiologist. I only know that the coliform is the group of bacteria and E. Coli is a part of that group.
00:12:27
Speaker 4: Okay, so.
00:12:29
Speaker 3: What has what are they required to do? I assume there's somebody who keeps an eye on this stuff and make sure the airlines are not serving shit water.
00:12:37
Speaker 2: Yes, so that is also noted in this study saying that.
00:12:42
Speaker 1: Think about restaurants.
00:12:44
Speaker 2: You get graded right, you'll see there what they're great is do they get a D do they get an A?
00:12:49
Speaker 1: And it determines whether or not I want to eat at that restaurant.
00:12:52
Speaker 2: So they say, obviously there's tons of oversight when it comes to anything you're purchasing in a store or anything you go to.
00:12:59
Speaker 1: A restaurant to consume.
00:13:01
Speaker 2: But they say, the Environmental Protection Agency, that is the federal agency responsible for ensuring safe aircraft drinking water, almost has never levied any kind of penalty on an airline for not having potable drinking water, and so they say there's almost no oversight, and that's.
00:13:21
Speaker 1: Part of the issue.
00:13:22
Speaker 4: There is oversight, but they don't end up enforcing.
00:13:25
Speaker 1: Correct the rules.
00:13:26
Speaker 2: The study actually awarded a shame on You award as a part of their press release, and the shame on You award went to the EPA for their poor response, and they said some of these airlines were really crappy in cooperating with them answering questions they had based on this study. So when we come back, we're going to talk about what some of the official airline response was to the study findings, especially American airlines. They had a lot to say, and understandably so because they were given that D rating. And we're also going to talk about just consider this, consider how your water gets to your aircraft when I read that, a lot of what this study found makes a whole lot of sense.
00:14:12
Speaker 4: And and and.
00:14:19
Speaker 1: And welcome back everyone.
00:14:23
Speaker 2: We continue to talk about this disturbing study. And I say disturbing because the results are disturbing, but perhaps it's empowering because we're getting actual information about a three year study that was done from the Center for Food as Medicine and Longevity that took a look at thirty five thousand water samples from the major airlines here in the United States and found that just about every airline needs to improve their onboard water supply, some more than others. And if you consider this, this is how they describe I mean, did you even have you even thought about how an airline gets their water into the plane on board the plane?
00:15:07
Speaker 1: Like, how does that happen?
00:15:10
Speaker 4: No, I don't think about that.
00:15:12
Speaker 2: I'd never considered it. So they actually said this, Think about this. Your aircraft flies to numerous destinations, and it pomps potentially like drinking water into the tanks that it has in the airplane from various sources domestic, international, And so yes, you have to hope that they're taking water from reliable sources, which let's assume they are, but then you have to rely on this safety and the cleanliness of the equipment used to transport that water, Like there's water cabinets, trucks, carts, hoses, so all of these things that the water has to go through to get on board your plane. You can see the potential risk for contamination. And they also point out unlike the water system you have in your house or your apartment or wherever, where you get flow and regular monitoring, they point now that water on airplanes oftentimes has the long periods of stagnation where it just sits. There's big temperature variations, there's mechanical stress from air, so there's all sorts of reasons.
00:16:14
Speaker 1: Why that water.
00:16:15
Speaker 2: You can't compare it to water that you get at home or even at a.
00:16:19
Speaker 3: Restaurant sitting water. All I see is mosquitoes, malaria. When I hear sitting water, standing water, that's the first thing comes to my mind. But I know that's not what you're talking about.
00:16:29
Speaker 1: Well, you don't want stagnant water.
00:16:33
Speaker 2: As the way the water you're drinking is described right before you get on the plane. Stagnant water doesn't sound healthy, doesn't sound good. So, yes, we did get some responses from American Airlines. Would you like to hear so American Airlines that American's potable water program is fully in compliance with the Environmental Protection Agencies Aircraft Drinking Water Rule. A recent EPA audit showed there were no significant findings with our program and we have not received any violations for any potable water cabinets or trucks.
00:17:07
Speaker 1: That we use. Does that make you feel better?
00:17:09
Speaker 4: Yes? I trust Airlines and everything they say feel better.
00:17:16
Speaker 3: No, everything you said, I'm not going to change a thing I am doing. I'm going to continue to wash my hands. I cannot walk out of the bathroom without washing my hands.
00:17:26
Speaker 2: But if we get some some I don't know, hand sanitizer, will I will add that after I wash my hands.
00:17:34
Speaker 3: I'm I'm just I've never been a hand sanitizer guy. I just soap and water. I just some about feeling sopen water.
00:17:39
Speaker 2: Huhuh, All right, okay, so it did say They added that they are closely reviewing the study to determine any potential changes that would further enhance the safety and well being of our customers and our team. I do appreciate that that. Actually, that made me feel the best out of anything. They said that they will take a look at the study and they will look to see if they can do anything differently. Jet Blue just said it follows the process outlined by the e p A, FDA and the FAA to ensure safe water, and it says it added, Hey, by the way, we also serve bottled water on our flights, so you always have that choice.
00:18:12
Speaker 4: Is there any more to the Jet Blue statement? That's it?
00:18:15
Speaker 3: I really hope there is, because that does make you want to fly on that airline. So sorry Jet Blue, but that's no good.
00:18:21
Speaker 1: So it's interesting you say that.
00:18:23
Speaker 2: So they this study actually kind of called out some of the airlines specifically, they said very weak responses from American United and Jet Blue. They said they did not adequately address their questions, and they said those three airlines had large numbers of violations during the study period and they were not They just called the responses weak, very weak responses that didn't adequately address our questions.
00:18:51
Speaker 4: So can you read it again, though? Can you read their statement again? Oh?
00:18:55
Speaker 2: Jet Blue statement? Yes, I will get it to you exactly word for word. It says, we follow the processes outlined by the EPA, FDA, and the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure safe water, and we also serve bottled water on our flights.
00:19:10
Speaker 4: BO that's no good. They essentially put it off.
00:19:15
Speaker 3: They they didn't seem to be even open to the possibility that we can do something better. That was the problem with that statement, to say, hey, we're doing.
00:19:21
Speaker 4: What they told us to do. So if it's we got.
00:19:24
Speaker 3: Shit water man, they told us we pass and everything, so I don't talk to And then to throw in there that you have an alternative, which is bottled water, is suggesting to me that maybe the other stuff is no good. Don't come on Jet Blue. We try, we try with y'all Jet Blue. That's no good.
00:19:42
Speaker 2: The bottled water thing was a little concerning to me, like, ooh, you need to put that out there.
00:19:47
Speaker 1: Hey, by the way, we also have bottled water. If you're concerned about like that.
00:19:52
Speaker 2: All right, Well I can say that I do think that. I The thing I'm going to change is I'm not going to order coffee.
00:19:58
Speaker 1: I'm going to bring it on board, and I am going to travel with hand sanitizer, which is something I have not done before.
00:20:06
Speaker 3: But you know, I mean, some people swear by it. You see the bottles hanging off their backpacks and their luggage when the yeah you're doing through airport, Yes, you should have clean hands, and more than so than that, what I've learned is just don't stop touching your hand, stop touching your face, Stop touching your mouth and your nose and your eyes. That's how all that stuff is getting in. And if your hands are nasty, I didn't learn that trick. But no, it's how are you not gonna wash your hands you leave the bathroom. I just think that's a tough one, Like, what are you supposed to do? Oh well, we're flying today Jet Blue. Let's stop and get some sanitizam because you know what's gonna be like in the bathroom and you're by the way your your dad says, first of all, if the water is boiled, you're gonna be fine. Now does it get to boiling?
00:20:48
Speaker 4: Does it?
00:20:49
Speaker 3: How much steam do I need to see coming out of my cup before I understand?
00:20:52
Speaker 4: I don't know.
00:20:53
Speaker 3: If I ask the flight attendant, did you get this to boiling before?
00:20:56
Speaker 4: I don't know. But you're supposed to be okay. His other he's hilarious.
00:21:02
Speaker 1: Oh, my dad's texting you right now.
00:21:04
Speaker 4: Oh, Yeah, I've been texting you dad the whole episode.
00:21:07
Speaker 3: He said, the thing you need to be worried about in the bathroom is touching everything else. So don't touch anything in the bathroom. It's disgusting. Such a good point, all of that stuff. So yes, the water they fine, We hear it, budd He said, You've got a lot to worry about that bathroom.
00:21:24
Speaker 2: You know when you see people walking like they literally have lysol wipes and they're wiping down their seat and they're wiping down their tray and they're what Honestly, they probably.
00:21:32
Speaker 1: Don't get stick that often.
00:21:35
Speaker 4: You know what.
00:21:35
Speaker 3: I have a I have a line here that's going to bring this whole thing home, But I don't have your dad's permission to use it, so I can't.
00:21:42
Speaker 4: That's a hell ofase, ain't it. It's good I think you can use it.
00:21:45
Speaker 1: Throwing any particular airline under the bus.
00:21:48
Speaker 3: He's making a suggestion here, and it's a good point, he's saying. He his suggestion is And like I was saying to you as we were doing this, I said, these headlines meant to just scare the hell out of me? Or do I have something to worry about? And he's just I sent him an article and send him a couple of headlines, and he said he is used to seeing a scare mongering go on by some organizations that use these to attract funding.
00:22:19
Speaker 1: Wow, it should be considered.
00:22:21
Speaker 3: It should be considered. Now, all of this might be one hundred percent true. I'm just saying a microbiologist didn't freak out at seeing that.
00:22:29
Speaker 2: And that's an important perspective that I always because I just said, my dad has never warned me don't wash your hands in airplane water.
00:22:39
Speaker 4: And this dude warns about everything, and he.
00:22:40
Speaker 1: Does warn me about a lot of things that I hadn't considered.
00:22:43
Speaker 3: And he travels like crazy. He knows everything to do and not to do when you travel. But it's just interesting to hear because I see it like what is and all of this we don't have any reason to doubt and it's gross and you see it. But oftentimes, what is our responsibility as the media sometimes and what we do. You've seen how some of these headlines were written.
00:23:02
Speaker 2: Absolutely about it, absolutely, But I think that's a good way to end it with that perspective that we always have to consider the source and consider if there are any advantages to saying things more dramatically than they actually are. It's something to consider when you read any article and read any study.
00:23:20
Speaker 3: But it's all true everything. I mean, nobody's doubting what they're saying. I mean, it's not peer reviewed. If you will, all know how that met it. They took tests, this is what they found, and at least a couple of airlines seem to say, hey, we're listening and we will do better and we'll want to take a look at this, which I appreciate. The airlines not named jed Blue that and see that actually lends itself to credibility to the study. They could have just said, these folks don't know what they talk about, and they say, well, we got.
00:23:51
Speaker 4: Some bottle water cool.
00:23:55
Speaker 2: Oh man, we do fly Jet Blue quite a bit, so we shall see and maybe just well again, I'm going to get some hand Sanital.
00:24:02
Speaker 4: We shouldn't say that we don't buy choice. No, not knocking Jet Blue.
00:24:07
Speaker 3: We've been very open about Delta being our favorite airline.
00:24:11
Speaker 4: We're from Atlanta.
00:24:12
Speaker 3: We got flying out of their fine, but we have been on Jet Blue a lot lately because we had because of where we had to go. Yes, and they were the one that flew direct there. I don't know, I don't know how much I love mint.
00:24:25
Speaker 1: Mint's great.
00:24:25
Speaker 3: I love laying down and like I'll have a little apartment on the very nice Fine, it's very great. Well, who knew I needed to lay down because I'm getting sicky from the water to.
00:24:36
Speaker 1: Avoid the cramping that is sure to follow.
00:24:39
Speaker 2: No, no, well, anyway, we wanted to jump on and let you know about this study.
00:24:44
Speaker 1: Take with it, take it as.
00:24:46
Speaker 2: You see it, and if you want to change behavior grade if not, information is power. You can make better choices perhaps and maybe even just make better decisions where you feel more comfortable about making sure you don't get sick the next time you get on an airplane. And with that, everyone, thank you for listening to us. I'm Ami Robot alongside TJ.
00:25:05
Speaker 4: Holmes.
00:25:05
Speaker 1: We will talk to you soon.
Speaker 1: Welcome every one.
00:00:12
Speaker 2: It is Sunday, January eleventh, and a news study says, the next time you fly on an airplane, do not drink the coffee, do not drink the tea, and don't wash your hands in.
00:00:27
Speaker 1: The bathroom on your next flight.
00:00:30
Speaker 2: DJ I believe I have done all three of the above pretty much every time I get on a flight.
00:00:37
Speaker 3: I just drink alcohol. And I never washed my hands in the bathroom anyway, So I'm good. Really, I'm kidding. Obviously, I wash my damn hands. But no, I don't drink water. I don't drink anything but usually a mimosa and bloody mary.
00:00:50
Speaker 4: When I fly.
00:00:50
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:00:51
Speaker 1: Wait, you don't usually get tea. I guess I don't see you do that.
00:00:53
Speaker 4: No, it's hot. Why would you want to hot liquid on an airplane?
00:00:57
Speaker 2: I do like a coffee. But that is about to change. The director of this study, they came from the Center for Food as Medicine and Longevity.
00:01:07
Speaker 1: This was his quote.
00:01:09
Speaker 2: Nearly all regional airlines need to improve their onboard water safety.
00:01:15
Speaker 1: That is alarming. I never it makes sense.
00:01:19
Speaker 2: We'll get into the meat of it and why it is the way it is. But what they found is incredibly alarming, but I never considered not washing my hands. It says they're on a sign on the mirror, please wash your hands before returning to your seat.
00:01:36
Speaker 3: Okay, the sign doesn't need to be there anyway. For the first of all, nobody should have to be told to wash your damn hands. You should have been told this since you were a child, so this shouldn't be there. Next, they give you the wipes right as soon as you get on the plane. Now they hand you those little sanitary wipes and telling you to use your hands. To use those in your hands, so there are options. And I'm curious if this is a headlineman to scare the hell out of all of us or we are in real danger.
00:02:02
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm actually surprised because I thought that soap when you obviously, if you just ran your hands under the water, I understand maybe you're susceptible to any bacteria that could be in the water. But I always believed that if I use the soap, which I do, that that gets rid of the bacteria. And I thought that using too much hand sanitizer gets rid of good bacteria. It dries out your hand, so I tend to avoid hand sanitizer. So this is a shocking headline to me.
00:02:31
Speaker 3: Uh No, I mean, I guess, I mean it makes sense if you doesn't matter what you put on your hand, if you're rinsing the soap off with shit water, then your hands are going to be dirty.
00:02:44
Speaker 2: Okay, So you just kind of nailed what this study found. So researchers they surveyed more than thirty five thousand water samples from ten major airlines and eleven regional airlines.
00:02:57
Speaker 1: And they did this over a three year period.
00:03:00
Speaker 2: So this was from October of twenty twenty two until September of twenty twenty five.
00:03:05
Speaker 1: That is significant, three years, thirty.
00:03:08
Speaker 2: Five thousand samples. I'm listening to what this survey found. That seems pretty comprehensive.
00:03:15
Speaker 4: Okay, And what did they find?
00:03:17
Speaker 1: Okay?
00:03:18
Speaker 2: Well, first off, they found that two point seven percent of all the samples tested positive for coliform and so coloform.
00:03:27
Speaker 1: What is that.
00:03:28
Speaker 2: It's a group of bacteria that signals potential contamination by disease causing germs.
00:03:34
Speaker 1: So it's a.
00:03:36
Speaker 2: Group of bacteria that bad bacteria, bacteria that makes you sick. Bacteria was found in nearly three percent of all samples.
00:03:45
Speaker 1: That's fairly significant.
00:03:49
Speaker 4: Okay, but it found what is this stuff?
00:03:52
Speaker 1: Okay?
00:03:53
Speaker 2: So coliform bacteria. Basically, if that is present in the water, that indicates that they're are disease causing organisms, pathogens in that water. And so if you wash your hands with that water and then say, rub your eyes or somehow put your hands in your mouth or somewhere in some orifice where that could go into your body, you likely and possibly could get pretty sick.
00:04:23
Speaker 4: Wait, likely or possibly those are two different things.
00:04:25
Speaker 1: That's true, that's true.
00:04:26
Speaker 2: It depends on how much is on your hands, It depends on what your gut health is. There's a lot of things that go into it. But how about this, if this lands for you, Of the twenty one airlines surveyed, E Coli was found thirty two times.
00:04:41
Speaker 4: So wait, you say it again.
00:04:43
Speaker 2: They said, of the twenty one airline surveyed, E Coli was found thirty two times.
00:04:48
Speaker 1: So E Coli.
00:04:49
Speaker 2: That is something that is a pathogen, that is a bacteria that should be pretty.
00:04:55
Speaker 1: Familiar to most of us at this point.
00:04:56
Speaker 2: When you hear about cruise ships having to turn around because everyone sick with norovirus, that's from E.
00:05:02
Speaker 1: Coli.
00:05:03
Speaker 2: Anytime you have a major ground beefree call where people get really sick, violently ill.
00:05:08
Speaker 1: That's E coli.
00:05:10
Speaker 2: So when we talk about coliform, the most obvious thing there was E coli, which when you said shit water, that's what that is.
00:05:18
Speaker 3: And how much are they are there suggestions that people have been getting sick?
00:05:23
Speaker 4: Nobody, I mean, it sounds gross.
00:05:24
Speaker 3: Nobody wants to think this stuff is on your hands and you're putting it in your water or you're touching your eye and not a die. But I mean, is this stuff enough? This is what I was literally about to pick up my phone and text your dad, because this is why I need to, like, I need a little more expertise to understand how much danger, how much of a threat this stuff is, because it's scary as hell when you see the headline.
00:05:41
Speaker 2: We should get him on about this because there is somebody he has traveled his whole life extensively, and.
00:05:47
Speaker 1: He's always given me tips on how not to get sick.
00:05:50
Speaker 2: I've never heard him tell me don't wash your hands in the bathroom of an airplane. So that's why I'm a little surprised because I hadn't heard this before.
00:05:57
Speaker 1: And here's the deal.
00:05:58
Speaker 2: If you get sick, babe, after you come back from a trip, say the next day, you have you're in the bathroom longer than you want to be, or you've got some.
00:06:06
Speaker 1: Issues, some stomach issues. What's the first thing? You're gonna blame something?
00:06:10
Speaker 2: Eight something you ate, And especially if you were traveling somewhere, you're gonna be like, oh man, it might have been the ice or the ice cream, or that salad I had, or something that was uncooked.
00:06:23
Speaker 1: You're going to blame your last meal. I can't imagine.
00:06:26
Speaker 2: And I've never looked back and thought, oh, well, I was on a plane, maybe the water got me.
00:06:31
Speaker 1: Never did I think that.
00:06:32
Speaker 4: But is it possible that it did? That's my question.
00:06:35
Speaker 1: Yes, the answer is yes, And so here is.
00:06:38
Speaker 2: And this is kind of interesting because we have our feelings about airlines based on our experiences, but they actually ranked US airlines based on their water levels, like their level of contamination or lack thereof. So the top airlines were Delta and Frontier, they got A ratings the low airlines. The worst airlines were American Jet Blue and Spirit. And I can actually go through and give you the onboard water rankings.
00:07:08
Speaker 1: Would you like them?
00:07:09
Speaker 4: Sure?
00:07:10
Speaker 2: This is from again their most recent three year study that just wrapped in the fall of twenty twenty five, and this is their big rollout about what they found. So five is the best, zero is the worst. Okay, Delta Airlines got a five. That feels pretty good. They got a Grade A. Frontier Airlines got a four point eight, Alaska Airlines got a three point eight five.
00:07:33
Speaker 1: They got a Grade B.
00:07:35
Speaker 2: Allegiant air three point sixty five that gave them a B. Southwest Airlines got a three point three.
00:07:41
Speaker 1: They're at a C.
00:07:43
Speaker 2: Hawaiian Airlines got a three point one five. That's a Grade C. United Airlines two point seven sneaking in a Grade C.
00:07:52
Speaker 1: But now we have those who failed Grade d's.
00:07:55
Speaker 2: Spirit Airlines had a two point h five, Jet Blue had a one point eight, and American Airlines had a one point seventy five.
00:08:04
Speaker 4: How do they come up with those numbers?
00:08:06
Speaker 2: That was based on their water quality, So they talked about the presence of coliform, any potential contamination, just the quality of the water based on their tests.
00:08:18
Speaker 1: That was the rankings. And they did this again or earlier.
00:08:22
Speaker 2: The last time they came out with rankings was in twenty nineteen and delta was at the bottom, so they have made improvement since then.
00:08:29
Speaker 1: And airlines do tend to.
00:08:31
Speaker 2: Take this type of study, and especially knowing that it's being publicized, and they do tend to make adjustments based on it. So they right now, I know none of us want to just rely and cross our fingers and hope that the airlines do better. They, alongside these results, give very clear recommendations for passengers. Their first recommendation passengers should be extra cautious.
00:08:56
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, I'm going to be now. I don't think I was before.
00:09:00
Speaker 3: What though, I mean, what are you supposed to just not drink? I mean, if they this is boiling hot water and coffee, am I supposed to be worried about it too?
00:09:06
Speaker 1: And see that's why I thought it was okay. I thought because the water is not they are.
00:09:11
Speaker 2: They are suggesting first of all, that passengers should not drink any water that isn't sealed in a bottle. It feels like you're going onto a third world country. It's almost as if you walk onto that plane and you have to assume you're in a third world country where you can't trust the drinking water, which I've never done or operated when I went on to an airplane. Number two, it recommends not drinking coffee or tea on board a flight.
00:09:35
Speaker 1: They didn't specify why, but.
00:09:36
Speaker 2: I would I would gather that it's because you can't be sure that the water got hot enough. You can't be sure that it got to a boiling point that actually basically got rid of any potential pathogens. Look, when I make coffee in a third world country, I do use bottled water. So I guess that would make sense because you don't know that that coffee pot or the way they made the tea or the coffee actually got hot enough, so that I guess that makes sense.
00:10:08
Speaker 4: Okay, I hope the study doesn't have anything in there about prosecco.
00:10:13
Speaker 2: Actually, yes, I actually think alcohol is one of the things you can trust. Although I do have questions in terms of like the glasses, is it better to use the plastic stuff versus the glass Where that they have where has that been washed? Was that washed in the same water. I don't know how they do dishes on board a plane. I'm not sure if they run it through the dishwater. Now, like I'm thinking, man, maybe we should just prefer the plastic cups.
00:10:35
Speaker 3: I hear that, but all this and you and I fly more than anybody.
00:10:39
Speaker 4: Yeah, I've never gotten sick.
00:10:40
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, look, it's they're saying, it's kind of like a roulette. You don't know, but you are increasing your odds at getting sick by drinking the coffee, by drinking the tea, and by washing your hands.
00:10:53
Speaker 1: You are putting yourself at risk.
00:10:57
Speaker 2: It doesn't ensure you're going to get sick, but it is risky behavior.
00:11:00
Speaker 3: What does the sign say in the bathroom you said about washing your hands.
00:11:04
Speaker 1: Says please wash hands before returning to seat.
00:11:06
Speaker 3: Okay, next plane, I'm on, I'm gonna take a sharpie and put not do not wash your hands.
00:11:14
Speaker 2: And now I am actually gonna go get some I'm gonna go get some hand sanitizer for our next trip. Because, yes, that recommendation. I think that's the biggest one for me. I can understand the coffee and tea, I guess, but I still have had coffee plenty of times on I would say almost every time I'm on a plane, I probably have a cup of coffee at least fifty percent of the time. Yeah, so you should use hand sanitizer with at least sixty percent alcohol instead of washing your hands in the plane's bathroom. That is the biggest change of behavior for me. But this is actually and they talked about the health consequences you asked E.
00:11:50
Speaker 1: Coli.
00:11:51
Speaker 2: They say, basically, you were talking about acute gas stro intestinal illness.
00:11:55
Speaker 1: That's that's what you're trying to avoid.
00:11:58
Speaker 3: Wait a minute, I am trying to still understand. There were two things you said, E coline something else was in the water.
00:12:05
Speaker 4: Well, the.
00:12:08
Speaker 2: Coliform is what they test for, and then when they do a deeper dive they can determine E. Coli was among the pathogens. So I'm not obviously, I'm not a microbiologist. I only know that the coliform is the group of bacteria and E. Coli is a part of that group.
00:12:27
Speaker 4: Okay, so.
00:12:29
Speaker 3: What has what are they required to do? I assume there's somebody who keeps an eye on this stuff and make sure the airlines are not serving shit water.
00:12:37
Speaker 2: Yes, so that is also noted in this study saying that.
00:12:42
Speaker 1: Think about restaurants.
00:12:44
Speaker 2: You get graded right, you'll see there what they're great is do they get a D do they get an A?
00:12:49
Speaker 1: And it determines whether or not I want to eat at that restaurant.
00:12:52
Speaker 2: So they say, obviously there's tons of oversight when it comes to anything you're purchasing in a store or anything you go to.
00:12:59
Speaker 1: A restaurant to consume.
00:13:01
Speaker 2: But they say, the Environmental Protection Agency, that is the federal agency responsible for ensuring safe aircraft drinking water, almost has never levied any kind of penalty on an airline for not having potable drinking water, and so they say there's almost no oversight, and that's.
00:13:21
Speaker 1: Part of the issue.
00:13:22
Speaker 4: There is oversight, but they don't end up enforcing.
00:13:25
Speaker 1: Correct the rules.
00:13:26
Speaker 2: The study actually awarded a shame on You award as a part of their press release, and the shame on You award went to the EPA for their poor response, and they said some of these airlines were really crappy in cooperating with them answering questions they had based on this study. So when we come back, we're going to talk about what some of the official airline response was to the study findings, especially American airlines. They had a lot to say, and understandably so because they were given that D rating. And we're also going to talk about just consider this, consider how your water gets to your aircraft when I read that, a lot of what this study found makes a whole lot of sense.
00:14:12
Speaker 4: And and and.
00:14:19
Speaker 1: And welcome back everyone.
00:14:23
Speaker 2: We continue to talk about this disturbing study. And I say disturbing because the results are disturbing, but perhaps it's empowering because we're getting actual information about a three year study that was done from the Center for Food as Medicine and Longevity that took a look at thirty five thousand water samples from the major airlines here in the United States and found that just about every airline needs to improve their onboard water supply, some more than others. And if you consider this, this is how they describe I mean, did you even have you even thought about how an airline gets their water into the plane on board the plane?
00:15:07
Speaker 1: Like, how does that happen?
00:15:10
Speaker 4: No, I don't think about that.
00:15:12
Speaker 2: I'd never considered it. So they actually said this, Think about this. Your aircraft flies to numerous destinations, and it pomps potentially like drinking water into the tanks that it has in the airplane from various sources domestic, international, And so yes, you have to hope that they're taking water from reliable sources, which let's assume they are, but then you have to rely on this safety and the cleanliness of the equipment used to transport that water, Like there's water cabinets, trucks, carts, hoses, so all of these things that the water has to go through to get on board your plane. You can see the potential risk for contamination. And they also point out unlike the water system you have in your house or your apartment or wherever, where you get flow and regular monitoring, they point now that water on airplanes oftentimes has the long periods of stagnation where it just sits. There's big temperature variations, there's mechanical stress from air, so there's all sorts of reasons.
00:16:14
Speaker 1: Why that water.
00:16:15
Speaker 2: You can't compare it to water that you get at home or even at a.
00:16:19
Speaker 3: Restaurant sitting water. All I see is mosquitoes, malaria. When I hear sitting water, standing water, that's the first thing comes to my mind. But I know that's not what you're talking about.
00:16:29
Speaker 1: Well, you don't want stagnant water.
00:16:33
Speaker 2: As the way the water you're drinking is described right before you get on the plane. Stagnant water doesn't sound healthy, doesn't sound good. So, yes, we did get some responses from American Airlines. Would you like to hear so American Airlines that American's potable water program is fully in compliance with the Environmental Protection Agencies Aircraft Drinking Water Rule. A recent EPA audit showed there were no significant findings with our program and we have not received any violations for any potable water cabinets or trucks.
00:17:07
Speaker 1: That we use. Does that make you feel better?
00:17:09
Speaker 4: Yes? I trust Airlines and everything they say feel better.
00:17:16
Speaker 3: No, everything you said, I'm not going to change a thing I am doing. I'm going to continue to wash my hands. I cannot walk out of the bathroom without washing my hands.
00:17:26
Speaker 2: But if we get some some I don't know, hand sanitizer, will I will add that after I wash my hands.
00:17:34
Speaker 3: I'm I'm just I've never been a hand sanitizer guy. I just soap and water. I just some about feeling sopen water.
00:17:39
Speaker 2: Huhuh, All right, okay, so it did say They added that they are closely reviewing the study to determine any potential changes that would further enhance the safety and well being of our customers and our team. I do appreciate that that. Actually, that made me feel the best out of anything. They said that they will take a look at the study and they will look to see if they can do anything differently. Jet Blue just said it follows the process outlined by the e p A, FDA and the FAA to ensure safe water, and it says it added, Hey, by the way, we also serve bottled water on our flights, so you always have that choice.
00:18:12
Speaker 4: Is there any more to the Jet Blue statement? That's it?
00:18:15
Speaker 3: I really hope there is, because that does make you want to fly on that airline. So sorry Jet Blue, but that's no good.
00:18:21
Speaker 1: So it's interesting you say that.
00:18:23
Speaker 2: So they this study actually kind of called out some of the airlines specifically, they said very weak responses from American United and Jet Blue. They said they did not adequately address their questions, and they said those three airlines had large numbers of violations during the study period and they were not They just called the responses weak, very weak responses that didn't adequately address our questions.
00:18:51
Speaker 4: So can you read it again, though? Can you read their statement again? Oh?
00:18:55
Speaker 2: Jet Blue statement? Yes, I will get it to you exactly word for word. It says, we follow the processes outlined by the EPA, FDA, and the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure safe water, and we also serve bottled water on our flights.
00:19:10
Speaker 4: BO that's no good. They essentially put it off.
00:19:15
Speaker 3: They they didn't seem to be even open to the possibility that we can do something better. That was the problem with that statement, to say, hey, we're doing.
00:19:21
Speaker 4: What they told us to do. So if it's we got.
00:19:24
Speaker 3: Shit water man, they told us we pass and everything, so I don't talk to And then to throw in there that you have an alternative, which is bottled water, is suggesting to me that maybe the other stuff is no good. Don't come on Jet Blue. We try, we try with y'all Jet Blue. That's no good.
00:19:42
Speaker 2: The bottled water thing was a little concerning to me, like, ooh, you need to put that out there.
00:19:47
Speaker 1: Hey, by the way, we also have bottled water. If you're concerned about like that.
00:19:52
Speaker 2: All right, Well I can say that I do think that. I The thing I'm going to change is I'm not going to order coffee.
00:19:58
Speaker 1: I'm going to bring it on board, and I am going to travel with hand sanitizer, which is something I have not done before.
00:20:06
Speaker 3: But you know, I mean, some people swear by it. You see the bottles hanging off their backpacks and their luggage when the yeah you're doing through airport, Yes, you should have clean hands, and more than so than that, what I've learned is just don't stop touching your hand, stop touching your face, Stop touching your mouth and your nose and your eyes. That's how all that stuff is getting in. And if your hands are nasty, I didn't learn that trick. But no, it's how are you not gonna wash your hands you leave the bathroom. I just think that's a tough one, Like, what are you supposed to do? Oh well, we're flying today Jet Blue. Let's stop and get some sanitizam because you know what's gonna be like in the bathroom and you're by the way your your dad says, first of all, if the water is boiled, you're gonna be fine. Now does it get to boiling?
00:20:48
Speaker 4: Does it?
00:20:49
Speaker 3: How much steam do I need to see coming out of my cup before I understand?
00:20:52
Speaker 4: I don't know.
00:20:53
Speaker 3: If I ask the flight attendant, did you get this to boiling before?
00:20:56
Speaker 4: I don't know. But you're supposed to be okay. His other he's hilarious.
00:21:02
Speaker 1: Oh, my dad's texting you right now.
00:21:04
Speaker 4: Oh, Yeah, I've been texting you dad the whole episode.
00:21:07
Speaker 3: He said, the thing you need to be worried about in the bathroom is touching everything else. So don't touch anything in the bathroom. It's disgusting. Such a good point, all of that stuff. So yes, the water they fine, We hear it, budd He said, You've got a lot to worry about that bathroom.
00:21:24
Speaker 2: You know when you see people walking like they literally have lysol wipes and they're wiping down their seat and they're wiping down their tray and they're what Honestly, they probably.
00:21:32
Speaker 1: Don't get stick that often.
00:21:35
Speaker 4: You know what.
00:21:35
Speaker 3: I have a I have a line here that's going to bring this whole thing home, But I don't have your dad's permission to use it, so I can't.
00:21:42
Speaker 4: That's a hell ofase, ain't it. It's good I think you can use it.
00:21:45
Speaker 1: Throwing any particular airline under the bus.
00:21:48
Speaker 3: He's making a suggestion here, and it's a good point, he's saying. He his suggestion is And like I was saying to you as we were doing this, I said, these headlines meant to just scare the hell out of me? Or do I have something to worry about? And he's just I sent him an article and send him a couple of headlines, and he said he is used to seeing a scare mongering go on by some organizations that use these to attract funding.
00:22:19
Speaker 1: Wow, it should be considered.
00:22:21
Speaker 3: It should be considered. Now, all of this might be one hundred percent true. I'm just saying a microbiologist didn't freak out at seeing that.
00:22:29
Speaker 2: And that's an important perspective that I always because I just said, my dad has never warned me don't wash your hands in airplane water.
00:22:39
Speaker 4: And this dude warns about everything, and he.
00:22:40
Speaker 1: Does warn me about a lot of things that I hadn't considered.
00:22:43
Speaker 3: And he travels like crazy. He knows everything to do and not to do when you travel. But it's just interesting to hear because I see it like what is and all of this we don't have any reason to doubt and it's gross and you see it. But oftentimes, what is our responsibility as the media sometimes and what we do. You've seen how some of these headlines were written.
00:23:02
Speaker 2: Absolutely about it, absolutely, But I think that's a good way to end it with that perspective that we always have to consider the source and consider if there are any advantages to saying things more dramatically than they actually are. It's something to consider when you read any article and read any study.
00:23:20
Speaker 3: But it's all true everything. I mean, nobody's doubting what they're saying. I mean, it's not peer reviewed. If you will, all know how that met it. They took tests, this is what they found, and at least a couple of airlines seem to say, hey, we're listening and we will do better and we'll want to take a look at this, which I appreciate. The airlines not named jed Blue that and see that actually lends itself to credibility to the study. They could have just said, these folks don't know what they talk about, and they say, well, we got.
00:23:51
Speaker 4: Some bottle water cool.
00:23:55
Speaker 2: Oh man, we do fly Jet Blue quite a bit, so we shall see and maybe just well again, I'm going to get some hand Sanital.
00:24:02
Speaker 4: We shouldn't say that we don't buy choice. No, not knocking Jet Blue.
00:24:07
Speaker 3: We've been very open about Delta being our favorite airline.
00:24:11
Speaker 4: We're from Atlanta.
00:24:12
Speaker 3: We got flying out of their fine, but we have been on Jet Blue a lot lately because we had because of where we had to go. Yes, and they were the one that flew direct there. I don't know, I don't know how much I love mint.
00:24:25
Speaker 1: Mint's great.
00:24:25
Speaker 3: I love laying down and like I'll have a little apartment on the very nice Fine, it's very great. Well, who knew I needed to lay down because I'm getting sicky from the water to.
00:24:36
Speaker 1: Avoid the cramping that is sure to follow.
00:24:39
Speaker 2: No, no, well, anyway, we wanted to jump on and let you know about this study.
00:24:44
Speaker 1: Take with it, take it as.
00:24:46
Speaker 2: You see it, and if you want to change behavior grade if not, information is power. You can make better choices perhaps and maybe even just make better decisions where you feel more comfortable about making sure you don't get sick the next time you get on an airplane. And with that, everyone, thank you for listening to us. I'm Ami Robot alongside TJ.
00:25:05
Speaker 4: Holmes.
00:25:05
Speaker 1: We will talk to you soon.