Over 200 United Airlines flight attendants, along with other employees, reported severe gastrointestinal issues after eating the airline’s Christmas holiday meal at Denver airport. Symptoms such as stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting emerged rapidly, with multiple attendants missing work and at least one reportedly becoming ill mid-flight. (Update: the union has updated the number of flight attendants estimated to have fallen ill, details below the original article, but further update it wasn’t just flight attendants who fell ill.)
Flight attendants shared their experiences on social media, pinpointing the meal’s chicken—described by some as undercooked—and a leafy green salad as the possible culprits. One pregnant crewmember noted experiencing “extreme pain” for over 12 hours after eating the food, while another recalled that the warm salad “tasted kind of funny.” Several crew members observed that the catered meal appeared to be sitting at room temperature for too long.
The AFA-CWA union, which represents United’s cabin crew, issued a statement that although there is no definitive proof yet, “the issue affecting over 200 Flight Attendants, in addition to other employees, may be connected to the holiday meal provided to employees in DEN.”
According to a flight attendant, “One of the crew we worked with even threw up during the flight!” Some employees say the airline suggested the cause might be a viral outbreak, but they contest that notion, blaming the meal itself. Others have joked that the company is “helping them fit into new uniforms,” while warning that this incident could lead the airline to nix future holiday meals altogether.
It remains unclear whether flight schedules have been significantly disrupted by the outbreak. United Airlines has yet to issue a public response explaining the cause or addressing the union’s claim that 200 or more flight attendants were affected.
Interestingly, several flight attendants noted the meal’s “laughably small” portions. That reminds me of the common refrain about airline meals, drawn from Woody Allen in 1977’s Annie Hall, “Boy the food at this place is really terrible. And such small portions!”
The airline has enforced a controversial sick policy that discourages cabin crew to call out during peak travel times. Some crew are reporting that flight attendants “are getting disciplined (points) for calling out sick [because] of this meal.” Whether that ultimately holds, it’s how employees currently perceive their relationship with the airline and this meal is undermining the company’s purpose in offering it. It reminds me of American Airlines offering its flight attendants chili as an inducement not to picket.
In the fall Delta crew fell ill and hot meals on Detroit flights were halted amidst a listeria scare. Meanwhile, over the summer a Delta flight diverted after passengers fell ill from their inflight meal. We used to think it was just the fish you had to avoid.
Update: AFA-CWA has revised estimates of the number of flight attendants that have fallen ill, and United Airlines has provided a statement.
According to the flight attendants union,
After recent conversations with United Management, we are getting a clearer picture of the scale of the reporting by Flight Attendants.
At this time, according to United’s records (badge scans), there were 492 holiday meals served to Flight Attendants over the Christmas holiday in DEN. Of those flight attendants who were provided a meal, there have been just 24 reports of symptoms consistent with that of food poisoning; far fewer than our original estimate of those affected and which we reported in last night’s newsletter.
Of course we recognize that there may be some who decided to “power through” or who may have been apprehensive about calling in sick over the holiday period, or who may have been on their way home and therefore did not miss work. If you had to call in sick and believe you were affected, if you have not already done so be sure to email your supervisor explaining that you believe you were among those experiencing symptoms and request that any associated points be removed.
While there is no way to know for sure if this was food “poisoning” since there are viruses going around that produce similar symptoms, local DEN management have assured me that out of an abundance of caution, they will be monitoring this issue and if anyone did miss work due to symptoms consistent with food poisoning, and who badged in for a DEN meal, that there should be no Holiday Absence Certificate requirement and no points associated with the absence.
According to the airline,
United is monitoring reports from some employees about gastrointestinal symptoms following holiday meals served to Denver employees on Wednesday, and we are in contact with health authorities. There has been no impact on our operation.
Update 2: Per aviation watchdog JonNYC it was not just flight attendants who fell ill.
on the other hand:
"Not just the flight attendants, all departments had issues.
They were handing out food all day and presumably the chicken went bad, a good estimation is ~200 others suffered from food poisoning, at least 60 employees (not all in the same department) called out of work the next..— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 7:55 PM
..day. 1 flight yesterday had to return to the gate because a FA fell ill due to the food as well
Even managers and supervisors fell ill but the company has yet to acknowledge it "SO, a lot goin' on here
— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 7:56 PM
If it is contagious like a norovirus, let’s blame United for the next pandemic. Just in-time for the god-king’s return! Make vomiting great again! Praise!!
Just like coach passengers, the flight attendants should have brought their own meals or bought food from the vendors in the airport. After the reports of flight attendants on USA airlines serving meals with obvious mold on them, I would say that the training on spotting spoiled food is very much lacking.
“Some employees say the airline suggested the cause might be a viral outbreak…” Wow, this is the difference between poor leadership and great leadership: The former always find ways to evade accountability, whereas the latter immediately take responsibility and are quick to apologize and make everyone impacted whole. Delta’s leadership just failed an intelligence test big time, this is a steaming pile of not good.
United and not Delta of course, Tim Dunn was on my mind…
I got food poisoning from a Polaris meal two years ago, no one cared. Really though, I’m surprised the FA’s would eat the garbage UA serves. It’s reached the point of just, BYOF. It’s bad enough even without food poisoning.
“Oh yes, I remember. I had the lasagna.”
The lasagna hahahaha
The union, in the middle of contract negotiations, put this out?
Why did they have to advise flight attendants that the company knows who was there? Could it be that flight attendants were calling in, saying they were sick from food they never ate?
I won’t eat that crap! It’s junk.
Did I just hear salad was served could it be E coli or salmonella from the salad I’m wondering if that’s it . Did anyone get tested for salmonella poisoning was it any salad leftover…. I mean that should be the first thing the airline look for salmonella poisoning or E coli bacteria….
Getting sick from “bad chicken” (of whatever sort) is no laughing matter. I hope the best for those FA’s, and that they will recover quickly. I ate chicken (years back) infected with campylobacter jejuni, and it was AWFUL, keeping me in the hospital for a week.
union good service, overpaid staff, so cut corners on food quality what do u expect
Cover story for their mass sickout.
Flight attendants at United Airlines enjoy a valuable workplace benefit: each aircraft has clean, sanitary, and complimentary air sickness bags at every passenger seat. These large emesis bags have a fluid capacity of about one quart or one liter, allowing them to hold a significant amount of liquid vomit.
Lakeshia Williams writes, “Did I just hear salad was served could it be E coli or salmonella from the salad I’m wondering if that’s it . Did anyone get tested for salmonella poisoning was it any salad leftover…. I mean that should be the first thing the airline look for salmonella poisoning or E coli bacteria….”
When I think about foodborne illnesses associated with food served on United Airlines, I believe it’s essential not only to test for Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella but also to consider testing for Listeria monocytogenes, which can cause food poisoning from contaminated processed meats. This year, there was an outbreak of listeriosis linked to contaminated Boar’s Head deli meat products. Another significant concern is a hepatitis A outbreak. In the United States, at least 640 people were affected by hepatitis A, resulting in four deaths in north-eastern Ohio and south-western Pennsylvania in late 2003. This outbreak was traced back to tainted green onions served at a Chi-Chi’s restaurant in Monaca, Pennsylvania.
Some senior citizens may also eat dog and cat food to save money on expensive United Airlines tickets. This month, the Portland-based pet food company Northwest Naturals issued a North American recall after a cat died from consuming a batch of cat food contaminated with the bird flu virus. On Tuesday, December 24, the company issued a press release announcing a recall of its 2-pound Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food after a house cat in Oregon tragically died. Testing revealed that the product contained H5N1 bird flu. This illness, caused by type A influenza viruses, varies in severity depending on the strain and the species affected. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) strains are deadly to domestic poultry and can decimate entire flocks within days. It’s important to note that trying to save money on airline tickets by substituting refrigerated dog or cat food for inspected human food is never advisable. Finally, depending on the type of passenger symptoms after they consume an airline meal, consider the possibility of foodborne botulism. In Michigan, there was a significant outbreak of foodborne botulism linked to home-canned peppers served at a Mexican restaurant located about 40 miles from Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW).