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Abu Dhabi In-Flight Catering Company has been boosted by the outcome of a recent Food Safety and Quality Assurance audit that has resulted in the company being highly praised for the running of its facilities.
The company, which serves Abu Dhabi International Airport and provides the catering services for Etihad Airways and other visiting airlines, received a near perfect – 98% - overall score in what is regarded as one of the toughest measures of performance for in-flight caterers worldwide.
In keeping with international rules and regulations, the in-depth, audit is always unannounced and conducted by appointed representatives of IATA (International Air Travel Association) – in this case, the audit was conducted by Medina Quality Assurance Services.
The purpose of the audit is to monitor and maintain the highest standards of performance of flight catering kitchens around the world and is set against ICQA (In-flight Catering Quality Assurance) guidelines.
Assessment categories include: Food Quality, which means an adherence to every airline’s own menu specifications, along with the appearance and freshness of ingredients and finished meal; Food Safety, a rating that covers all production steps from the selection of suppliers to the final onboard delivery; and General Operational Standards, including timeliness of food delivery to the aircraft, equipment inventory control and accuracy of onboard packing.
Abu Dhabi In-Flight Catering, now a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), was originally established in 1982 and currently produces more than 20,000 meals per day. Since January 2008, the facilities have been under the management of one of the world’s leading in-flight catering companies – LSG Sky Chefs.
Understandably delighted with the result, ADAC General Manager – Catering, Paul Haines said: “The result firmly underlines our ongoing commitment to ensuring the best possible services to all of our airline customers. It is clear that, in selecting LSG Sky Chefs, ADAC has chosen a winning partnership and we look forward to continuing to surpass the airlines’ and passengers’ expectations, now and into the future.”
In-flight Catering has been expanding rapidly in the last few years as a direct result of the exponential growth of Abu Dhabi’s home-airline, Etihad Airways, along with an increasing number of airlines operating from the UAE capital’ main airport.
To accommodate the real and projected growth, the in-flight catering facility was expanded in 2006 from a capacity of 15,000 to 30,000 meals per day. Current expansion proposals are expected to take this figure up to a capacity of 50,000 per day to meet demand over the over the next four years.
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