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.

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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