Out of date food scavenged from a smelly skip has been served to easyJet passengers, an ex-catering worker told the Mirror newspaper. He said that he was told to climb into a car park bin to find sandwiches because there was not enough food for an inflight meal order. The 10 packaged Bacon Bloomers were dusted down and unwittingly given to passengers on no-frills flights out of Luton Airport even though they were two or three days past sell-by dates.
After the tip off, the Mirror launched a surveillance operation and other staff at the world's largest inflight caterer, Gate Gourmet, confirmed that they had also reused discarded food. Another employee told them: ‘I wouldn't fly easyJet and I would never buy the food. We know how we did it.’
Neil Harding, 28, who worked at the Luton warehouse until January, added: ‘If there is a mix-up in the order and after things have been disposed of, they realise there is a problem with that day's delivery. That was when food was fished out of the bins and used a day or two later than it should be.’
Staff interviewed by the Mirror said that the firm could not cope after winning a contract in October to supply meals and drinks for up to 60 Luton easyJet flights a day. A worker at the plant - which operates under its old name Fernley Aviation despite being taken over by Gate Gourmet - said: ‘When we first started, anything happened, and we didn't give a **** if it was out of date.’ Another said: ‘The food is left for hours before it's put in the fridge. I wouldn't fly easyJet. Well, I might if I absolutely had to, but I wouldn't eat the food.’
Whistleblower Mr Harding also told the newspaper that some staff had not yet had criminal record checks as required by the Department of Transport. He said: ‘Food is packed in the warehouse and sent into the hold of the planes. It is therefore essential that no one could work there who could be considered a threat to security. This was not the case.’
After the Mirror confronted Gate Gourmet, is says that former employees were called at home by panicking bosses. The firm, which supplies food for 250 airlines including British Airways, said an urgent investigation had been launched.
Its spokesman told the Mirror: ‘Fernley has received no reports from employees about non-compliant activities, nor have there been any reports of expired products by airline crews or passengers. Safety and security are our highest priorities.’ And easyJet said: ‘We expect the highest of standards from all of our suppliers and are investigating.