Delta abruptly cancels meal service on hundreds of flights after FDA inspection

More than 200 Delta flights out of Detroit Metropolitan Airport were forced to cancel their in-flight meal service after the airline was ordered to shut down its food service facility.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had been conducting a routine inspection of the kitchens and found a food safety issue where the flight meals were being prepared.

The FDA ordered the immediate closure of the facility, leading the airline to state publicly that it is now changing how it prepares both hot and cold food so that it can restore meal service to flights.

Delta would not say specifically what violations food inspectors found in the kitchens of their food catering partner in Detroit, Do&Co, that they deemed so severe.

Meal service was cancelled on more than 200 Delta flights out of Detroit Metropolitan Airport over the weekend after the airline was ordered to shut down its meal service facility

Delta would not say exactly what violations food inspectors found they deemed so serious that warranted a complete shutdown of meal prep

On Mondays flights, passengers were treated to sandwiches from Panera Bread and offered a measly 2,500 SkyMiles by way of compensation

During a recent inspection at a Detroit Metro Airport kitchen, Deltas catering partner was notified of a food safety issue within the facility. Delta and its catering partner immediately shut down hot food production and subsequently suspended all activity from the facility, the airline said in a statement.

Hot food and other onboard provisioning will be managed from other facilities, the airline said, noting that we will continue to take necessary precautions to ensure food safety.

Delta usually only provides hot meals on flights over 900 miles and full meal service on flights over 2,300 miles.

On Mondays flights, passengers were treated to sandwiches from Panera Bread and offered a measly 2,500 SkyMiles by way of compensation. 

Its not the first time that Deltas Detroit kitchens cleanliness has been questioned this year.

In July, a flight from Detroit to Amsterdam was forced to make an emergency landing in New York after passengers were served moldy chicken, leading to several passengers to get sick.

Some photos taken by passengers and flight attendants show black mold growing on the chicken.

One passenger who consumed the food said they did not finish it because it tasted really really sour.

In July, a flight from Detroit to Amsterdam was forced to make an emergency landing in New York after passengers were served moldy chicken leading to several passengers to get sick

Its not the first time that the cleanliness of Deltas Detroit kitchens have been brought into question. Pictured, dozens of meals were found to be moldy on a flight to Europe in July

On another occasion, a passenger posted a picture of a moldy egg sandwich on a Delta flight from Honolulu to Detroit

Medics met the plane after it landed at JFK and provided aid to 14 passengers and 10 flight crew. 

Delta says the crew consulted with medical experts who recommended the diversion. 

Nancy Kirchoff, 65, was on the Amsterdam bound flight with her husband when it made an emergency landing at JFK Airport in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The pilot announced they were turning around because there was some type of food issue and people were sick, Kirchoff told DailyMail.com.

They said they saw some mold on the chicken, she added. I asked if anyone had gotten sick and they told us no one had been affected, but the pilots both ate the chicken.