British Airways apologies after "issue at London Heathrow" leaves passengers without food during flight

Passengers aboard flight BA1425 between Belfast and London Heathrow were left without any meal options on Friday evening, as passengers on the flight confirmed that they were only offered bottled water on the short-haul flight on Friday evening.

One passenger contacted NationalWorld to explain that despite the 55-minute journey, staff aboard the flight announced that there would be no snacks available, leading to some questions regarding what led to this development. Could it be that the length of the flight means that British Airways may no longer offer such sustenance in a bid to combat food waste, or was there a passenger aboard who had an allergy leading other passengers to contend with a snack-less journey?

An email submitted by one passenger to NationalWorld reveals that British Airways apologised afterwards for the situation, stating: “We're really sorry but we can't offer you food or drinks on your flight today because of an unforeseen issue with our catering operations.   If you purchased items from our High Life Café, we'll automatically refund you and wanted to let you know in case you want to grab something from the airport. ”

“For our customers travelling in Club Europe, please speak to a member of our team who will be able to provide you with a refreshment voucher. ”

NationalWorld contacted British Airways before the e-mail reached our newsdesk, with a spokesperson explaining: “There was an issue at London Heathrow, which prevented us from catering the aircraft to the standard product. We emailed all affected customers to apologise. All customers would have got water and a snack.”

Lack of food between Belfast to London the latest catering issue with British Airways.

The issue follows from a situation regarding a British Airways international flight earlier this year, where a catering situation led to passengers travelling between Turks and Caicos to Heathrow, via the Bahamas, when “unforeseen circumstances” meant the flight’s normal meal service was unavailable. On that occasion, staff instead bought fried chicken from a KFC fast food restaurant at Nassau airport.

The trade blog View From The Wing has also reported that British Airways is testing a new catering system where it won't load enough food for all passengers on flights in a bid to tackle food waste. 

Past attempts to reduce food waste saw some customers go hungry because there wasn't enough food for all passengers on board, people familiar with the matter told the blog.