Delta stops hot meals on some flights citing caterer food safety issue

Delta Air Lines planes are seen parked at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on June 19, 2024 in Seattle, Washington.

Kent Nishimura | Getty Images

Delta Air Lines had to suspend hot meal service on more than 200 flights out of its Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport hub over the past several days because of a “food safety issue.”

Delta said that operations from the facility were shut down and hot food will be managed by other kitchens.

“During a recent inspection at a DTW kitchen, Delta’s catering partner was notified of a food safety issue within the facility,” Delta said in a statement on Sunday. “Delta and its catering partner immediately shut down hot food production and subsequently suspended all activity from the facility. Hot food and other onboard provisioning will be managed from other facilities.”

A message to a flight crew on Friday said first-class meals couldn’t be loaded because of “an unforeseen supply chain issue” and that the flight would be stocked with additional snacks.

The Food and Drug Administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday.

The carrier said no employee or customer illnesses were reported, and that it gave affected customers travel vouchers or frequent flyer miles as compensation.

Airlines serve thousands of meals to passengers a day, generally through third-party catering kitchens. Do & Co., which works with Delta, didn’t immediately comment.

In July, a Detroit-to-Amsterdam Delta flight diverted to New York because of a report of spoiled chicken, forcing the carrier to limit meals to pasta for several days on certain flights.