Flyersrights.org Plea to Airline Passengers: 'Don't Drink the Water!'

Consumer Advocacy Group Disappointed in Latest EPA Guidelines for Providing
Safe Drinking Water Aboard Airplanes

NAPA, Calif., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Flyersrights.org, the national
advocacy group for airline passengers in the United States, has gone on record
by stating that last week's finalized EPA guidelines regarding airline
drinking water are insufficient and basically allow the airlines to operate as
they please without regard to passenger health and safety.

The new EPA guidelines, which are based on a 2004 study in which 15% of
airliners tested positive for coliform, call for mandatory testing every five
years. In addition, the EPA is only required to do random inspections on
airplane water systems and the new rules don't commence for another 18 months.

Kate Hanni, founder and president of Flyersrights.org does not think the new
rules adequately address passenger health concerns.

"Testing water every five years for coliform is simply unacceptable. The
flying public trusts the airlines to provide it with basic needs such as
potable, hygienic water -- and the airlines are failing the task. Now the
government has attempted to regulate, yet has clearly bowed down to the
airlines with extremely lax new rules that do not address the issue. Our
recommendation to passengers is that they do not drink water on board an
airplane unless it is bottled, do not brush teeth with bathroom tap water and
disinfect further after washing hands in airplane bathrooms," said Hanni.

Paul Ziots, a passenger who was stranded on the tarmac in Austin in 2006 for
almost nine hours, knows the dangers of airplane tap water all too well.

"All we had on board the aircraft was tap water. I became ill with intestinal
problems, and had to put myself up for two nights in an airport hotel, at my
own expense, before aborting my trip and flying home," he states.

Flyersrights.org was formed in 2007 by several passengers who were stranded
for nine hours on the tarmac in Austin, Texas. The organization advocates for
passengers' rights, including passage of the Passenger's Bill of Rights
currently being debated in Congress. The organization currently has 27,000
members nationwide. For more information, visit www.flyersrights.org or call
the hotline at 1-877-FLYERS6.

SOURCE FlyersRights.org

Kate Hanni of FlyersRights.org, +1-707-337-0328, kate@flyersrights.com