Hard to Swallow

The airline industry can’t seem to get a break. Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported that business-class passengers aboard four different Delta Air Lines flights from Amsterdam found sewing needles in the sandwich served to them during the flight. One passenger flying to Minneapolis even suffered a minor injury after taking a bite. After a post-flight inspection, five sandwiches were found to have been contaminated.

Delta is working with the FBI to figure out where the needles came from, and told The Wall Street Journal that the airline “has taken immediate action with our in-flight caterer at Amsterdam to ensure the safety and quality of the food we provide onboard our aircraft.”

According to a Good Morning America story, the injured passenger has been put on antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV, and the FBI is investigating the situation as a criminal case. Gate Gourmet was the catering company that made the sandwiches, and it serves an average of 9,700 flights a year, reaching more than 300 million passengers annually.

While disturbing, both Delta and Gate Gourmet are doing everything they can to ensure passenger safety aboard flights. The incident will likely lead to stricter security measures regarding airline food, which poses an interesting question:  Will you continue to eat airline food now that this has happened?

Please comment below.

—Jessie Fetterling