Warning: avoid most food items on aeroplanes and don’t drink the tap water

If you’ve ever wondered why your in-flight chicken tastes like it was seasoned by someone with a grudge against your arteries, you’re not alone—and you’re not imagining things either. 

Airline meals are notorious not just for being mediocre, but for being pumped full of salt and sugar to trick your taste buds, which go half-numb at 35,000 feet.  According to flight attendant Celina Bedding, who’s seen more galley kitchens than most of us have had hot dinners, the altitude messes with your ability to taste by as much as 30 per cent.

“Because of the cabin pressure, we lose around 30 per cent of our taste buds,” Bedding said. “So the companies that prepare food for the airlines add much more salt to it in order to have a nice flavour at 40,000 feet.” That said, Bedding follows up with a stark warning, advising travellers “to avoid plane food as much as you can,” according to an article by British news outlet Express.

Loaded with sugars and salt

Airlines go heavy on the sodium and sweeteners so that limp pasta feels a bit less tragic when you’re trapped in a metal tube over the Atlantic.

And that is why Bedding suggests that instead of pastas or toasties, “you could choose a salad or fruit salad, for example.”

But it’s not just the meals that come with caveats. Celina, echoing years of warnings from cabin crews and health experts, insists on steering clear of one thing altogether: tap water on board. Don’t drink it. Don’t brush your teeth with it. Don’t even let it flirt with your lips.

So, while Celina recommends you “make sure you drink plenty of water before, during and after a flight to hydrate yourself,” she warns we should all stay clear of the plane’s tap water.

Those tiny bathroom taps are connected to tanks that don’t get cleaned nearly as often as they should. You’ll often find polite little signs telling you not to drink it—listen to them.

Bottled water or tomato juice

Instead, hydrate like your life depends on it (because it sort of does) with bottled water, and if you’re reaching for something with flavour, join the crew and grab a tomato juice. 

Unlike your go-to orange juice or cola, tomato juice holds its own at altitude thanks to its umami-rich makeup. The science is simple: umami doesn’t short-circuit when your taste buds do.

“For any passengers out there, whether you are a frequent flyer, an occasional flyer, seasonal flyer or will be a first-time flyer soon, I would like to say to you: NEVER drink tap water from the plane bathroom,” she insisted.

Bedding stated that several scientific studies have confirmed the unsuitability of plane tap water for drinking, a fact that may be reinforced by warning signs next to aircraft taps.

Why it’s best to sit up front

And if you’re wondering how to game the system for a better bite mid-air, veteran flight attendant Kamila Jakubjakova has a tip: sit up front. 

Not just for legroom, but because food service starts at the nose of the aircraft. 

So, if you’re after that elusive chicken curry before it gets swapped out for whatever mystery dish is left by row 28B, book yourself closer to the cockpit. Priority boarding? Meh. Priority dinner? Absolutely.

“The food service usually starts from the front of the aeroplane, so you’ll get to dine first if you sit in the very first rows of an aircraft,” Kamila said. “Sitting in the front rows also means you’re more likely to get your preferred choice of meal if two meal options are available.”