An air travel expert has warned those who are planning to travel by plane to avoid drinking tap water while onboard.
Trying to remember plane tickets, passports and luggage for all the family is difficult enough but now, you may want to add bottles of water to the never-ending holiday checklist.
According to The Mirror, Anton Radchenko, travel expert and founder of AirAdvisor, said that the most important tip he tells people when taking a plane journey is to "avoid drinking plane water” for all cold and hot drinks.
Why you should never drink tap water when travelling by plane
Although there are many reasons why you should only drink bottled water while in the air, Anton Radchenko said the main reason is that "in-flight tap water systems are rarely cleaned.”
He said: “So, when you ask for a glass of tap water, hot chocolate, or a cuppa, you're potentially drinking from dirty pipes."
"While planes do carry drinking water, it can be sourced from any pickup points on that plane's route and it can be stored for long periods which inevitably means that the water quality is reduced”, added Radchenko.
Therefore, it isn’t known where in the world that water has come from.
The Mirror reports that although airlines are "required to adhere to stringent regulations regarding water quality and run water tests regularly, it doesn't mean "serious contamination" can't take place.
If you drink contaminated water on a plane, you could be at risk of becoming ill unless which can be particularly concerning for those with underlying health conditions or a weakened immune system.
Travelling by plane increases the risk of dehydration
However, it’s important to remember that you should still drink bottled water when flying because this increases dehydration.
Radchenko said: “Flying increases the risk of dehydration. So, it's important to keep up your water intake.
"But drinking poor quality water can be worse than not drinking enough. Bringing bottled water is always safer.
"And remember – alcohol is NOT a good substitution! It may feel good in the moment, but it will really dehydrate you. Which is bad for your health and bad for your holiday!"
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here