More than 100,000 British Airways passengers risk flying hungry today as the airline struggles to deal with the sacking of 350 of its catering workers.
A BA spokeswoman confirmed all of Heathrow’s 550 long-haul and short-haul flights today will leave the hub without in-flight catering, usually provided by local supplier Gate Gourmet.
This follows yesterday’s crisis when the food supplier ceased operations after firing 350 workers over a working practices dispute.
From mid-afternoon until the end of flights last night, BA flew about 10,000 passengers without its in-flight meal service.
BA has been contacting “as many passengers as possible” via SMS text messages to suggest they eat before arriving at the airport.
It is also issuing food vouchers that can be redeemed at Heathrow catering outlets and has set up refreshments centres in its terminals.
Once flying, passengers are being offered tea, coffee and water.
BA has also set up refreshment centres at Bangkok and Singapore airports to feed those passengers flying through to Sydney or Melbourne.
“We are doing everything we can. This is a Gate Gourmet dispute so it’s really in their hands to resolve,” said the spokeswoman.
“We were not informed ahead of time because it is unofficial industrial action so we had no way of predicting it. However, we have our contingency plans in place.”
BA wouldn’t say whether it will end its relationship with Gate Gourmet. It has contracted the catering company for seven years and previously “enjoyed a very good relationship”.
Gate Gourmet also caters for airlines including Cathay Pacific, Austrian Airlines and Emirates.
However, no comment is yet available on whether these airlines have also been affected.
Gate Gourmet general manager Tony Woodhouse refused to no comment.
According to workers’ union T&G’s spokesman, the Heathrow crisis has been brought on because Gate Gourmet has “undermined a worker rescue package” agreed by all parties in June by hiring 130 seasonal workers even though permanent staff’s jobs were under threat.
T&G insists it is trying to “restart talks” with Gate Gourmet today.