Flights are not known for providing good quality plane food the majority of the time, many passengers believe. A pilot has now revealed that there’s another reason – beyond taste – why travellers may want to think again about aircraft meals. The pilot, who posted on US knowledge-sharing site Quora unveiled the alarming way food can be contaminated. He revealed that often the people who take waste off the aircraft are the same as those who bring the food on – and they don’t always change their gloves.
Randy Jones, a private pilot of almost two decades, posted on Quora: “The people who take the trash and waste off of the aircraft from the previous flight are usually the same people who cater the aircraft.
“And while they’re required to wear gloves, the gloves are often not changed in between tasks. Oh, and the garbage is removed first.”
Pilots and cabin crew do often choose to bring their own food on – but they also have very strict rules when it comes to eating airline meals.
Rather than everyone on board the aircraft eating all the same food, important health measures are taken, a pilot told Express.co.uk.
The meals the pilots eat are, in fact, completely different to what the passengers eat, although they are the same quality as served in economy.
“We will eat different food to prevent any issues arising if there is a problem with the food that could incapacitate us,” the pilot said.
The food is all prepared by the same catering company, he said, but safety precautions are necessary.
The difference doesn’t just stop there. “The pilot and the captain also eat different meals to prevent both getting ill in the case of an emergency,” the pilot explained.
This is so if one falls ill from the food, there is a reasonable expectation that the other will stay healthy and will be able to land the plane.
Food safety isn’t the only thing which could worry those travelling by plane.
Some planes do not get cleaned at all, as a deep clean can often only happen every three months.
However, some of the worst spots on the plane could cause passengers to get extremely ill.
CBA News Marketplace conducted an investigation to find out where the filthiest parts of the plane are, as well as some of the vilest items found onboard.
The investigation swabbed 100 areas of the plane on 18 short-haul flights on three major airlines in Canada. Some of the locations included the headrest, tray table and seat belt.
Microbiologist Keith Warriner, who studied the samples, was “amazed” at what was received.
The headrest was the worst place on the plane, with haemolytic bacteria and E.coli found on it, as well as having the highest aerobic count.
