More than 200 Delta flights out of Detroit Metropolitan Airport were forced to cancel their in-flight food service after the airline was ordered to close its food service facilities.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had been conducting a routine inspection of galleys and found a “food safety issue” where in-flight meals were prepared.
The FDA ordered the immediate closure of the facility, prompting the airline to publicly state that it is now changing the way it prepares hot and cold foods in order to restore in-flight catering.
Delta did not say specifically what violations food inspectors found in the kitchens of its Detroit catering partner, Do&Co, that they considered so serious.
Food service was canceled on more than 200 Delta flights out of Detroit Metropolitan Airport over the weekend after the airline was ordered to close its food service facilities.
Delta did not say exactly what violations food inspectors deemed so serious that they warranted a complete shutdown of food preparation.
On Monday’s flights, passengers were treated to sandwiches from Panera Bread and were offered a measly 2,500 SkyMiles in compensation.
‘During a recent inspection at a Detroit Metropolitan Airport kitchen, Delta’s catering partner was notified of a food safety issue within the facility. “Delta and its catering partner immediately shut down hot food production and subsequently suspended all activity at the facility,” the airline said in a statement.
“Hot food and other supplies on board will be managed from other facilities,” the airline said, noting that “we will continue to take necessary precautions to ensure food safety.”
Delta typically only offers hot meals on flights over 900 miles and full meal service on flights over 2,300 miles.
On Monday’s flights, passengers were treated to sandwiches from Panera Bread and were offered a measly 2,500 SkyMiles in compensation.
This is not the first time this year that the cleanliness of Delta’s kitchens in Detroit has been questioned.
In July, a flight from Detroit to Amsterdam was forced to make an emergency landing in New York after passengers were served moldy chicken, causing several passengers to fall ill.
Some photos taken by passengers and flight attendants show black mold growing on the chicken.
One passenger who consumed the food said he didn’t finish it “because it tasted very, very sour.”
In July, a flight from Detroit to Amsterdam was forced to make an emergency landing in New York after passengers were served moldy chicken, causing several passengers to fall ill.
This is not the first time the cleanliness of Delta kitchens in Detroit has been questioned. Pictured, dozens of meals were found to have mold on a flight to Europe in July.
On another occasion, a passenger posted a photo of a moldy egg sandwich on a Delta flight from Honolulu to Detroit.
Medics met the plane after it landed at JFK and provided aid to 14 passengers and 10 flight crew.
Delta says the crew consulted with medical experts who recommended the diversion.
Nancy Kirchoff, 65, was on the Amsterdam-bound flight with her husband when it made an emergency landing at JFK Airport in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The pilot announced they were turning around because there was “some kind of problem with the food and people were sick,” Kirchoff told DailyMail.com.
“They said they saw some mold on the chicken,” he added. “I asked if anyone had gotten sick and they told us no one had been affected, but the two pilots ate the chicken.”