Cathay Pacific provides bottled water on flights after samples from tanks fail to meet standards
Health department says contaminant may have entered water tanks on 14 planes through supply system, but no E coli has been found
Tainted drinking water found on 14 Cathay Pacific planes may have been contaminated with bacteria that entered the water supply before or during the process of filling the planes' tanks, a joint investigation led by the Department of Health has found.
But the department says it has yet to determine the source of the contamination.
Cathay is providing bottled water for use on the affected planes and has sterilised nine of those jets' water tanks after samples of drinking water taken from them failed to meet hygiene standards in a recent test, the statement released last night said. The remaining five jets are due back in the city before tomorrow, and will be cleaned on their return.
The investigation is being jointly conducted with Cathay Pacific, the Airport Authority and the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company (Haeco), which operates the water tankers that filled the planes.
The airline yesterday could not give further details about the findings, such as when the contaminated samples were found, if the samples did in fact show excessive amounts of bacteria and which routes were affected.
"The tests are still ongoing. We will announce the results once they are available," a spokeswoman said.
The authority said the water sample from the latest test on June 22 was pending, while the readings of all other tests this month were normal.