Etihad Airways has announced that its catering arm has been commissioned by various government entities, business organisations and community centres, to prepare and provide meals to individuals impacted by the global spread of coronavirus (covid-19).

Since the start of the pandemic, Etihad Airport Services Catering (EAS Catering) has cooked and delivered more than 15,000 meals a day to people self-isolating or under quarantine, frontline medical staff, humanitarian drives and for various businesses across the capital.

General manager of EAS Catering, Andrew Caines, said: “The capabilities of EAS Catering’s in-house food laboratory means we have direct oversight on the effectiveness of covid-19 safety measures.

“We increased microbiological swabbing of surfaces and hands in order to validate disinfection and hand washing efforts, which are direct indicators of virus viability.”

EAS Catering is also delivering amenities and providing a laundry service for Etihad employees living in temporary isolation at Masdar City so as to operate essential freighter and repatriation flights. These include loadmasters, cargo agents, pilots and cabin crew.

In addition, Etihad crew living in company-provided accommodation and requiring a meal delivery service are also being catered for free of charge.

According to Etihad, the EAS Catering facility was selected due to its stringent food handling procedures, being of the only food facilities to achieve ISO 17025 accreditation in the UAE by Emirates National Accreditation System (ENAS).

As part of its covid-19 response, EAS Catering has also introduced a holistic safety training campaign, implemented a round-the-clock dedicated disinfection team for all high touch points, restricted access of all non-essentials persons to the premises, and installed thermal imaging stations at all entrances to ensure employees, visitors and suppliers are screened prior to entry.

Visit etihad.com for more information.