Delta Air Lines has paused its hot meal service on more than 200 flights from its Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport hub in response to a “food safety issue” at its caterer.
The airline announced that operations at the affected facility were halted, and hot meals will now be provided from alternative kitchens.
In a statement on Sunday, Delta said that during a recent inspection at the DTW kitchen, its catering partner was alerted to a food safety issue at the facility, CNBC reported.
“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,” it said.
The airline, in its message to the flight crew on Friday, noted that first-class meals couldn’t be loaded due to “an unforeseen supply chain issue.” To compensate, flights were stocked with additional snacks.
Delta reported no illnesses among customers or employees, and offered travel vouchers or frequent flyer miles as compensation to affected passengers.
Last month, a Washington woman filed a lawsuit against the airline after allegedly suffering first- and second-degree burns from a coffee spill on a flight from Paris. In the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Cheryl Myers alleged that the flight staff were “dismissive” of her concerns, and that the delay in her accessing medical care made her injuries worse, The Sacramento Bee reported.
Delta’s flight crew was accused of not properly providing medical care to the woman, or trying to find medical help for her.
“This coffee was excessively hot, way beyond industry standards,” said Mark Lindquist, the woman’s attorney. “Even the E.R. doctor was shocked that coffee this hot was served on an airplane.”
The lawsuit filed by Lindquist’s firm claimed that the airline failed to follow medical emergency protocols, contributing to the worsening of the woman’s injuries. Myers, who works as a flight attendant for another airline, claimed the coffee was boiling hot.
In July, a Delta flight from Detroit to Amsterdam was diverted to New York due to reports of spoiled chicken, which led the airline to restrict meal options to pasta-only for several days on certain flights.
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