Flight attendant explains why she would never drink tea or coffee from the plane

There are plenty of drinks available for people to order during a flight which will quench their thirst while soaring thousands of feet in the air, but apparently tea and coffee are a huge no-no.

An airline worker has urged people to steer clear of the range of hot beverages onboard and instead advised passengers to purchase something from the selection of wine, spirits, beer or soft drinks, instead.

Cierra Mistt, who claims to have worked for a US airline, explained that she and her colleagues avoid any refreshments which require hot water.

The flight attendant said that they will only have a cup of tea or coffee as an absolute last resort when they're 'super desperate', despite rows of passengers ordering them.

So, what exactly does Cierra know that we don't?

Well, as an air hostess with a fair bit of experience, she's sure seen it all by this point.

As well as the countless take offs and landings, Cierra is privy to the cleaning processes which go down on the plane too.

After all the travellers have trundled off into the airport terminal, a cleaning squad climb onboard to give the aircraft a quick scrub and collect everyone's rubbish that's been left behind.

They haven't got long to do this though, so they obviously don't go completely Mrs Hinch inside the cabin.

YouTube/@Cierra_Mistt

But according to Cierra, some parts of the plane get neglected when it comes to keeping them sanitary.

In a short video shared on YouTube sharing her 'flight attendant secrets', she claimed that the machines which supply the hot water for drinks such as tea and coffee are 'never cleaned'.

Cierra said: "Unless we're super desperate, we will not drink the coffee or the tea that's supplied on the plane.

"The water that we use for the coffee and the tea come from the same spot and guess what, it never gets cleaned.

"While the airlines may tell passengers that they do 'regular water quality tests', we are told that its about six to nine months for one test on one plane to happen.

"And they're not going to clean out that tank unless they find something."

Well, isn't that lovely news to hear if you're someone who is partial to a hot beverage mid-air?

It's certainly put me off my habitual in-flight hot chocolate.

YouTube/@Cierra_Mistt

But it's not exactly groundbreaking news, as flight attendants have been warning people about the apparent lack of cleaning of the water tank for years.

Some people still happily swig hot drinks and say they haven't experienced any negative effects, but others said that the mere thought of the water pumping through dirty pipes is enough to put them off.

Cierra's video attracted a similar response from social media users after she shared the clip.

One said: "Sure! Because they clean the water tank in your house."

Another said: "This is why I always buy bottled water."

A third wrote: "What can be in the water that can still hurt you after being boiled? Unless its botulism or a few other extremely rare bacteria that survive boiling, or if its literally poison, coffee or tea won't hurt anyone. It's just something people repeat to gross each other out."

And someone else chimed in: "I will not be drinking coffee or tea on a plane ever again."

Topics: Travel, Food And Drink, Weird, TikTok

Olivia Burke

Olivia is a journalist at LADbible Group with more than five years of experience and has worked for a number of top publishers, including News UK. She also enjoys writing food reviews (as well as the eating part). She is a stereotypical reality TV addict, but still finds time for a serious documentary.

@livburke_