It may sound strange, but in fact, this is a rule that the captain and co-pilot must follow.
The safety of all passengers and crew depends heavily on the pilot. Therefore, pilots must follow many strict rules on the plane. They must strictly follow regulations that are very different from those of us on the ground.
Therefore, the meals of the captain and co-pilot are not allowed to be the same to minimize risks.
Why do the captain and co-pilot never eat the same meal?
It may sound strange that the captain and co-pilot are not allowed to eat the same meal, but in fact, this is a rule that must be followed. Because, being a pilot is one of the professions with its own unique characteristics, requiring courage and high discipline to be able to face and handle the most dangerous situations.
For that reason, pilots must follow many strict rules and their meals are also very clearly regulated.
In fact, many commercial airlines have set regulations for pilots. Specifically, one of them is that two pilots sharing the cockpit will use two different meals. The reason for this strange regulation is to ensure and limit the risk of food poisoning that may occur.
In case one pilot is poisoned, the other can still ensure the mission and complete the flight.
Pilots are also often encouraged to avoid eating raw foods such as seafood and raw fish before and during the flight to ensure the best health.
Although the rate of food poisoning on airplanes is very rare, that does not mean it has never happened.
A specific example is that in 1982, on a flight from Boston (USA) to Lisbon (Portugal), bread in the airline meal caused 10 crew members, including the pilot, to be poisoned. For this unexpected reason, the flight had to land back in Boston.
In a similar case, in 2010, at least two British pilots suffered from food poisoning, but fortunately it did not affect the safety of the flight. According to a preliminary investigation, the cause of the poisoning of these two pilots was because they had eaten unsanitary food before the flight.
To ensure the highest safety for each flight, that is why the captain and co-pilot sit in the same cockpit but eat different meals.