{"id":1605,"date":"2026-01-06T22:36:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T22:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=1605"},"modified":"2026-01-06T22:36:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T22:36:19","slug":"new-study-reveals-which-airlines-have-the-dirtiest-drinking-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=1605","title":{"rendered":"New Study Reveals Which Airlines Have The Dirtiest Drinking Water"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-journey-body=\"standard-article\">\n<ul data-node-id=\"0\" class=\"css-kw9lqy emevuu60\">\n<li data-node-id=\"0.0\">The Center for Food as Medicine and Longevity conducted a 3-year study to assess the quality of drinking water across 10 major airlines.<\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"0.1\">Each airline received a Water Safety Score and a corresponding letter grade based on hygiene and contamination levels.<\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"0.2\">Delta topped the list with a perfect score, while JetBlue and American came in dead last.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr data-node-id=\"1\" class=\"css-18pb4rg emevuu60\"\/>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"2\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">There are some air travel tips we always hear from experts: Don\u2019t forget your compression socks, don\u2019t eat hard-boiled eggs in the air, and don\u2019t drink the water. From coffee to tea to ice cubes, the water on a plane may be potable, but the hygiene and freshness are allegedly iffy.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"3\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">Some people swallow the risk and consume it anyway, while others avoid it at all costs. But, thanks to a new study by the <a href=\"https:\/\/foodmedcenter.org\/2026-center-for-food-as-medicine-longevity-airline-water-study\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/foodmedcenter.org\/2026-center-for-food-as-medicine-longevity-airline-water-study\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Center for Food as Medicine and Longevity\" data-node-id=\"3.1\" class=\"body-link css-1i7jlb0 emevuu60\">Center for Food as Medicine and Longevity<\/a>, we know which airlines have the best\u2014and worst\u2014drinking water.<\/p>\n<section data-embed=\"editorial-link\" data-lazy-id=\"P0-15\" data-node-id=\"4\" class=\"embed\">\n<aside class=\"css-1fm2v8u e94w1mj9\">\n<h6 class=\"css-18s47pf e94w1mj7\"><span aria-hidden=\"true\" data-theme-key=\"title-design-element-before\" class=\"css-0 eagam8p0\"\/><span class=\"css-8lle59 e94w1mj5\">Related Story<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\" data-theme-key=\"title-design-element-after\" class=\"css-0 eagam8p1\"\/><\/h6>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"5\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">Researchers collected over 35,000 samples from 10 major and 11 regional airlines over 3 years. And, after testing each sample, they assigned each airline a \u201cWater Safety Score\u201d based on five factors. The weighted criteria include the number of violations per airline, disinfecting frequency, and E. coli contamination levels, among others. <\/p>\n<section data-embed=\"watch-next\" data-lazy-id=\"P0-16\" data-node-id=\"6\" class=\"embed\"\/>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"7\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">Along with the Water Safety Score, each airline was assigned a corresponding letter grade. And the results for the major carriers were shocking, to say the least.<\/p>\n<ul data-node-id=\"8\" class=\"css-kw9lqy emevuu60\">\n<li data-node-id=\"8.0\"><em data-node-id=\"8.0.0\"><strong data-node-id=\"8.0.0.0\">Delta Airlines &#8211; 5.00 (Grade A)<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"8.1\"><em data-node-id=\"8.1.0\"><strong data-node-id=\"8.1.0.0\">Frontier Airlines &#8211; 4.80 (Grade A)<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"8.2\"><em data-node-id=\"8.2.0\"><strong data-node-id=\"8.2.0.0\">Alaska Airlines &#8211; 3.85 (Grade B)<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"8.3\"><em data-node-id=\"8.3.0\"><strong data-node-id=\"8.3.0.0\">Allegiant Air &#8211; 3.65 (Grade B)<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"8.4\"><em data-node-id=\"8.4.0\"><strong data-node-id=\"8.4.0.0\">Southwest Airlines &#8211; 3.30 (Grade C)<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"8.5\"><em data-node-id=\"8.5.0\"><strong data-node-id=\"8.5.0.0\">Hawaiian Airlines &#8211; 3.15 (Grade C)<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"8.6\"><em data-node-id=\"8.6.0\"><strong data-node-id=\"8.6.0.0\">United Airlines &#8211; 2.70 (Grade C)<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"8.7\"><em data-node-id=\"8.7.0\"><strong data-node-id=\"8.7.0.0\">Spirit Airlines &#8211; 2.05 (Grade D)<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"8.8\"><em data-node-id=\"8.8.0\"><strong data-node-id=\"8.8.0.0\">JetBlue &#8211; 1.80 (Grade D)<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"8.9\"><em data-node-id=\"8.9.0\"><strong data-node-id=\"8.9.0.0\">American Airlines &#8211; 1.75 (Grade D)<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"9\" class=\"body-text css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">Delta ended up on top with a perfect Water Safety Score, boasting no Maximum Contaminant Level violations for E. coli and regular disinfecting. Followed close behind are Frontier, Alaska, and Allegiant. The collective fleet size of those three carriers, however, is a fraction of Delta\u2019s, which makes Delta\u2019s commitment to cleanliness even more impressive.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"10\" class=\"body-text css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">Then, towards the bottom of the list, we have Spirit\u2026but are we surprised? More shocking are the two airlines that performed worse: JetBlue and American. JetBlue may have the most legroom in coach, but they also (allegedly) have the most <a href=\"https:\/\/nepis.epa.gov\/Exe\/ZyPdf.cgi?Dockey=P100GJOS.txt#_ga=1.19310973.472891366.1423060476\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/nepis.epa.gov\/Exe\/ZyPdf.cgi?Dockey=P100GJOS.txt#_ga=1.19310973.472891366.1423060476\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Aircraft Drinking Water Rule\" data-node-id=\"10.1\" class=\"body-link css-1i7jlb0 emevuu60\">Aircraft Drinking Water Rule<\/a> violations. American Airlines had the most E. coli-related issues among the major airlines, which sent the carrier to the bottom of the list.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"11\" class=\"body-text css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">Along with each airline\u2019s individual score, the study presents a special \u201cShame On You\u201d award to the Environmental Protection Agency, which is responsible for regulating airline water quality. Researchers found that the agency inadequately enforces the Aircraft Drinking Water Rule and issues few, if any, penalties to offending airlines. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"12\" class=\"body-text css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">The experts who conducted the study have some clear advice for the public: Out of an abundance of caution, steer clear of any water that isn\u2019t in a sealed bottle. The same applies to coffee and tea. Even on top-performing airlines, it\u2019s not worth the risk.<\/p>\n<section data-embed=\"editorial-link\" data-lazy-id=\"P0-17\" data-node-id=\"13\" class=\"embed\">\n<aside class=\"css-fcvumo e94w1mj1\"\/><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Center for Food as Medicine and Longevity conducted a 3-year study to assess the quality of drinking water across 10 major airlines. Each airline received a Water Safety Score and a corresponding letter grade based on hygiene and contamination levels. Delta topped the list with a perfect score, while [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}