New industry guidance for in-flight services developed
The International Flight Services Association (IFSA) and the LSG Group along with the industry association Airline Catering Association (ACA) announce the development of a new guidance that leads and supports the airline and airline catering industries worldwide as they continue to take actions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Globally more than 3 billion onboard meals are produced and delivered every year. The ACA/IFSA COVID-19 Guideline introduces several guiding principles which provide direction on managing the COVID-19 pandemic and to support safe business operations including at airports, airlines, kitchens, and aircrafts. The document takes a pragmatic approach in implementation by highlighting and giving guidance on the ways in which individual locations and situations can best be re-engineered to meet the updated health safety standards. This document, which supersedes the previous guidelines released shortly after the start of the pandemic, serves to guide mitigation based on risk assessment for catering kitchens and airline in-flight services globally.
It was key for IFSA and ACA to collaborate in order to develop this guidance. The two global organizations represent the most skilled individuals with diverse backgrounds and expertise. This combined guidance addresses the global nature of the industry. “IFSA remains dedicated to the global advancement of the airline catering industry. This collaboration with ACA strengthens the airline catering industry and equips for safe global business resumption,” said IFSA Executive Director Lauren Costello. This industry has shown time and again how adaptable and resilient it can be. And we are glad we could, together with our colleagues from IFSA, bring our contribution with this very comprehensive guidance which is publicly available,” stated ACA Managing Director Fabio Gamba.
IFSA and ACA remain informed on applicable governmental guidance relative to COVID-19 as the situation changes frequently and directives may vary in each country/state/province. IFSA and ACA have made the guidelines available online, you can download them here.