The Reason Why Pilots And Co-Pilots Can’t Eat The Same Thing

Piloting a plane might seem like a glamorous gig, but the job also comes with some strange rules and regulations. Namely, what you can have for lunch.

Most airlines require their pilots and copilots to eat different meals on the job. While the Federal Aviation Administration doesn’t require this, individual airlines generally do. Why?

The biggest reason is food poisoning. If something has gone wrong with one meal, the odds of the other meal also having spoiled are pretty low. That means that at least one pilot won’t be incapacitated and can get the plane to its destination safely.

In fact, a batch of bad pudding laid low 10 crew members in 1982. The plane was able to turn around and land without incident, but the situation could have been prevented by diversifying staff snacks.


Of course, airlines are also concerned about less mundane dangers. With airport security becoming increasingly tight, some worry than a plane could be brought down by poisoning the pilots’ meals on purpose.

Luckily, all commercial planes nowadays are equipped with sophisticated autopilot systems that can direct the plane without much human input if needed.

Still, it’s good to know that airlines consider all the details when it comes to passenger safety.