A flight attendant has debunked some common myths about airplanes, while also revealing the truth about drinking alcohol on a flight.
Virgin Australia flight attendant Brodie Capron shared a TikTok addressing the questions she gets asked the most, from whether the water is safe to drink, why you feel more drunk while in the air, and where the waste actually goes. lavatory.
Ms. Capron, who has been in the industry for two years, often shares her experiences, with her most recent clip racking up half a million views.
Rumors have long circulated about the alleged poor quality of drinking water on planes, and its safety is a widely debated topic.
Some argue that you should only drink from a sealed bottle, but Brodie said it is, in fact, “safe to drink,” at least on your flights.
“It is filtered and it is clean,” he said.
When it comes to drinking alcohol, the Virgin crew member said you have to be mindful of how much you consume because you get more drunk on a plane, something not many people are aware of.
“[It’s] due to the lower percentage of oxygen in the air, the effects of alcohol are greater,” he explained.
“So make sure you make good decisions when you’re flying.”
Finder travel expert Angus Kidman confirmed that because oxygen levels are lower at higher altitudes, passengers are likely to actually feel the effects of the alcohol.
“So when you get on a plane, your body already has to work hard to make up for that,” he told news.com.au.
“It’s busy making extra red blood cells, and when you add alcohol to the mix, it can cause problems sooner than if you were drinking on the ground.
“Altitude sickness plus a hangover is not a fun combination.”
He said people vary and some get by much better than others.
“But chances are you’re not David Boon and you can’t handle dozens of cans of beer on a long-haul flight,” Kidman said.
“Realistically, it’s highly unlikely the crew would offer them to you anyway, unless you’re in first class.”
A Finder poll in December 2021 revealed that almost one in five (17 per cent) of Australians had gotten drunk on a plane, with 2 per cent, nearly 390,000 people, admitting to having slipped their own drinks.
“Even if you’re in party mode, make sure you’re drinking plenty of water, too,” Kidman said.
“And eat some of the plane food, too. It’s okay to enjoy a flight, but remember that you are in a shared space. Moderation is a wise policy when flying.”
Meanwhile, Ms. Capron also addressed some other frequently asked questions, such as why window shades need to be up for takeoff and landing.
“It’s so everyone can see the engines and warn the cabin crew if something is wrong,” he said.
For those wondering if poop and pee get released into the air, the answer is no.
“It goes into a sewage tank and then it empties once we land.”
As to why passengers should put on their oxygen masks first, Ms Capron said it’s so she can help others later, as “it won’t be very useful if you don’t have oxygen.”
And for those wondering if the doors can be opened in mid-flight, Brodie said the answer is no.
“The doors can’t be opened mid-flight unless you have superhuman strength,” he said.
In 2017, a man reportedly tried to open the departure door of a plane during a Delta Air Lines flight from Seattle to Beijing, Yahoo reported.
A flight attendant smashed a wine bottle over the man’s head and the passenger was arrested when the plane was forced to return to Seattle.
According to Live Science, even if the man had been left alone, he would have had to exert more than 23,589 pounds of force to open the door, which is the equivalent of lifting almost two African elephants.