Flight Attendant Videotaped Eating Passenger Meals

On a flight to Yinchuan on November 30, an Urumqi Air flight attendant is seen eating leftover passenger meals.

The person posting this to Facebook analogizes to a restaurant where the chef tastes the food before serving it to the customer to ensure it’s properly seasoned. Plus of course you know if the flight attendant is your food taster, and doesn’t die, the food’s safe.

The flight attendant has been suspended, and in a statement the Xinjiang-based low cost carrier says they provide flight crew with sufficient meals, “and the flight attendant should have gone through the proper procedure for dealing with leftover meals.”

It’s a problem when a flight runs out of food for passengers when the snacks are given to crew. And when a flight attendant appears to pour champagne back in the bottle. Or when a flight attendant steals alcohol from the plane to drink later. Or drinking before the flight.

And while I understand the need for employees to adhere to their employer’s rules, this was food left over at the end of the flight. So as long as the flight wasn’t double catered, with the food intended for return passengers, the downside to eating this food seems reasonably limited.

(HT: Secret Flying)

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. I’m more disturbed that she has apparently heated up more than ten trays of leftovers … seems a lot even if including other FAs

  2. What does “leftover” mean in this case? If these are meals that no passenger wanted, then who cares if the FA eats them? If these are meals that passengers started eating but didn’t finish, then that’s gross (for the FA) but none of our business. If these are meals that were eaten by the FA before being offered to passengers, then that’s cause for discipline.

  3. Randy, you are so right. Nothing wrong with eating left over from passengers food that didn’t get finished it. The person whose post this should be ashamed of of himself. Because of this she could lose her job. She could be one of member in her family that had a job. Now the rest of her family don’t even have any left over food to eat.

  4. FAs deserve anything they wish once passengers have been served.
    They are underpaid and sometimes under appreciated
    Now flying with Alaska and others I see many great ones.
    They work long hard shifts and deal with wonderful passengers and the passengers from h###
    And under some management that make it very hard on them and be able to serve the flying public
    Hello Mr Parker (clear throat)
    Signed an Ex American Exec Plat member

  5. The cabin crew is going to help you out of the aircraft in an emergency. If I have left portions of my meal unfinished and a member of cabin crew is hungry, go ahead and eat whatever you need. I don’t believe airlines supply cabin crew or cockpit crew with meals. I want cabin crew to have high levels of blood sugar in the event of an emergency.

  6. This article is just pathetic. Anything to ridicule and insult anything related to the airline industry. There are many other things deserving of people time and attention than this pettiness

  7. If this is truly “leftover” food that is going to be thrown out anyway, who cares if she (or anyone else) eats it? Tons of food is wasted every day when it’s offered to people who don’t want it. Get a life.

  8. I see that all the time in business and first class where crew eats the meals… Totally agree with @Trolly that it’s ok if food is extra and will be thrown away. However, sometimes I’d like second servings (while in business or first)… 🙂

  9. Don’t appear to be leftovers to me…and a would bite from each one be missed?
    This is a Boeing 737-84P with 186 seats, aft galley shown. With that in mind, it would almost have to have been another F/A as the photographer.

Comments are closed.