Airways sometimes require pilots to eat completely different meals to keep away from each getting sick from potential meals poisoning. This rule ensures that if one pilot falls sick, the opposite can safely function the flight.
Kosher, vegan, gluten-free, and even keto—most airways are fairly good lately about supplying you with an choice for in-flight meals. Many airways even allow you to select your entree prematurely, particularly should you’re flying in enterprise or top notch. If everybody in your row selects rooster, the flight attendants will do their greatest to be sure to all get rooster and never the dreaded pasta dish.
That mentioned, it’s a unique scenario within the flight deck. Though you may argue they’re crucial folks on the airplane, pilots don’t have the identical freedom we do in relation to selecting what to eat. On long-haul flights, pilots sharing a flight deck can’t eat the identical meals. If one pilot is having pasta, the opposite has to have rooster—right here’s why.
However first: Why do planes have a couple of pilot anyway?
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires airways to have at the least two pilots on industrial plane always. Lengthy-haul flights over eight hours typically require a 3rd or perhaps a fourth pilot. It’s because there are strict laws limiting the variety of hours a pilot can fly inside designated time durations. It’s additionally as a result of if one thing had been to occur to the pilot flying the airplane, there must be somebody certified to step in.
Why do pilots should eat completely different meals?
Salmonella, E. coli, norovirus, and the listing goes on: Foodborne sickness is a danger for anybody, and when meals poisoning hits, its signs will be disagreeable at greatest and lethal at worst.
“Pilots are required to eat completely different meals on the flight in case one meal is compromised,” Adam Cohen, a captain at Skywest Airways, tells Journey + Leisure. “That manner, just one pilot will likely be affected, and the opposite can proceed safely to the vacation spot.” Whereas the FAA doesn’t have a regulation stating that pilots should eat completely different meals, most airways have guidelines mandating that pilots can not eat the identical meals as their co-pilots each earlier than and through their flight.
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How widespread is meals poisoning on planes?
Whereas there have been a variety of unlucky incidents starting from passengers making an attempt to open emergency doorways to planes catching on fireplace just lately, meals poisoning seems to be much less widespread. That mentioned, it occurs. In 1982, a lot of the crew members on a flight from Lisbon to Boston had been stricken with abdomen pains and cramps after indulging in the identical dessert throughout the flight. Whereas a number of the crew members had been taken away in ambulances upon touching down in Boston, no passengers had been affected.
The crew had been served completely different meals, and thankfully, two of the ten opted out of the tapioca pudding. “Pilot skips pudding, lands airplane safely” learn the headline within the Manchester Night Herald that week. A spokesperson for the airline mentioned they suspected the pudding as a result of it was the one merchandise on the menu that had a cream base which might produce an on the spot response.
What do pilots eat?
There’s no governing physique that dictates what pilots can or can’t eat. That mentioned, the captain will strive to verify they’re not consuming the identical factor as their first officer. Often the pilot with probably the most seniority will get to decide on their meal first. Whereas many pilots choose up meals on layovers, some airways feed their pilots mid-flight, particularly if it’s a long-haul flight. For instance, Emirates prepares meals for passengers and crew in the identical catering facility in Dubai. That mentioned, crew members aren’t served the identical menu as passengers. Passengers sometimes get multi-course meals. The flight crew is extra apt to take pleasure in sandwiches or grab-and-go dishes which might be simpler to eat whereas working or on break.
Pilots are additionally allowed to pack their very own meals from dwelling, which is useful as a result of not all airways pay for his or her pilots’ meals, particularly on shorter routes. “I even use the ovens on the airplane when the flight attendants are achieved with them,” wrote one pilot on Reddit. “Nothing like a home-cooked meal within the flight deck.” Pilots simply can’t pair what they pack with a glass of wine or whiskey. That privilege is just reserved for passengers.