Ice on planes contains many bacteria that are harmful to humans - Photo: GETTY IMAGES
The main cause is believed to be the dirty ice on the plane.
According to a 2017 study published in the scientific journal Annals of Microbiology , ice on planes is often provided by third parties.
Scientists tested 60 ice samples from establishments that specialize in supplying this item. They found more than 50 strains of bacteria inside.
“The number of microorganisms in ice that cause human infections and environmental pollution accounts for a significant proportion,” they added.
Not stopping there, the ice tray on the plane is not as clean as we think.
In 2017, a Reddit user claiming to be a flight attendant spoke out about the issue, advising passengers to absolutely: “Do not put ice in your drinks, do not drink coffee, tea, or hot water on the plane, and do not touch anything in the bathroom with your bare hands.
(We) scooped ice 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 get a chance to wash our hands when we served drinks.”
“Some flight attendants were very upset because (the ice) wasn’t clean,” cabin cleaner Verna Montalvo told The Washington Post in 2023.
But they had no choice but to do so 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 tray was impossible.
In-flight drinking water also poses many potential health risks. According to a 2019 report by the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center at New York University (USA), drinking water from 11 out of 12 airlines surveyed in this area is unsafe for human consumption.
Scientists rated the safety of filtered water based on 10 other criteria, with scores ranging from 0 to 5 (5 being the highest). As a result, 7 out of 10 major US airlines scored below 3.
“The lesson I learned from doing the research is to not drink coffee and tea (on planes) in general,” Dr. Charles Platkin — executive director of the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center — told travel website Travel + Leisure .
Mr Platkin said he did not wash his hands and only used a self-prepared towel because the water in the plane's toilet was too polluted.
Of course, the quality of water and cleaning on planes varies from airline to airline, and not all airlines have this condition. So, passengers should consider. Some recommendations suggest that if you cannot enjoy a drink without ice, you can order alcoholic or carbonated water. Research shows that some ingredients in these drinks reduce the impact of bacteria in ice.
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