Top 5+ things you should never order on a plane, according to flight attendants

Air travel may be chaotic these days, but in true American form, that’s not stopping most people from traveling. There are plenty of ways to streamline the experience, from checking in before you get to the airport to getting in the right security line and knowing whether you need to take your shoes off. The list goes on. You may think the hard part is over once you board your flight, but intel from flight attendants suggests otherwise.

Once you’re strapped in for takeoff, you’re stuck on that airplane until it lands, which means you’re going to want to do everything you can to ensure smooth sailing. That includes being mindful of what you put in your stomach. Not all plane food is created equal, and flight attendants are spilling the tea, both literally and figuratively, on the things you’ll want to skip if you’d prefer the only bumps on your flight to come from turbulence and not your belly.

Coffee Or Tea

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If you wake up on a redeye or have a super early morning flight, it’s probably instinct to grab that much-needed caffeine boost once you're seated. But former flight attendant Alex Quigley strongly suggests thinking twice before ordering a cup. As he explains, airplanes use potable water tanks, and that water can sit there for a long, long time.

"There's no telling how often or when the tank has been cleaned last," he tells Delish. "This is a beast for bacteria. Plus, we were never allowed to pour the remaining coffee brewed into the drain of the airplane and were usually instructed to pour the coffee out into the toilet."

Yes, you read that correctly. That means bringing the pot into the bathroom to dispose of the coffee. “I can be honest and say I NEVER knew or saw anyone empty and refill or wash them out in between trips,” he noted. Excuse me while I go hurl.

Strong-Smelling Snacks

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Flight attendants specifically called out Corn Nuts, even though they’re sometimes served in flight. "They are pretty tasty, but some of them stink the second you open the package," an anonymous flight attendant tells Delish. "We actually serve them in our first-class snack basket. The roasted barbecue flavor [is the worst]. When you open the bag, it smells like something is burning on the plane," they continued.

We’d avoid other onion-, garlic-, or barbecue-flavored chips and snacks, too. No one likes a stinky plane.

Meat

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Oftentimes, you'll have a selection of meal options to choose from on your flight. Quigley suggests avoiding any meat dish. "You're putting the trust of storing any meat in the flight attendant's hands, and as we all know, delays happen and mechanical issues happen; so if you run into a situation where there's a possibility the cooked meals aren't actually being stored appropriately or have exceeded the storing time allotted for the meal," you can be in for trouble, he says.

Gas-Inducing Foods

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"Avoid!" Quigley exclaims. "Air in the airplane is circulated, it's never fresh. That means if someone passes gas, you're breathing that in over and over again, so this is more so for common decency," he explains.

This means cutting back on dairy, beans, fatty foods, green veggies, and sodas. Gassy food combined with cabin pressure can leave you feeling even more bloated, making an already not-so-comfy flight even worse.

Alcoholic Beverages

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We get it. Sometimes, you just want to sit back, turn on your TV monitor, and relax with a nice, cold drink in your hand. But according to Quigley, “You’re not actually doing yourself a favor by drinking on a flight.”

The combination of high altitude and alcohol can make you feel light-headed and can leave you feeling more drunk than you would on the ground. “When pressure is decreased in the airplane, the body can’t absorb oxygen as well,” Quigley explains, which can result in feeling not-so-great overall.

Another flight attendant specifically calls out Bloody Marys. They tend to be super salty, which can further dehydrate you on the plane. It’s also best to avoid anything mixed with orange juice, since it tends to be high in acidity and can upset your stomach. “I always tell folks to drink water,” she tells us.