TUI UK, Ireland to Stop Serving Hot, Cold Meals

DALLAS - TUI (BY) recommends travelers bring their own meals on some flights as it suffers from staff shortages at its catering supplier.

TUI said on its website that 'staff shortages' had resulted in a reduction in services for short and mid-haul flights, only providing 'limited' snacks, and that it was monitoring the situation. Long-distance flights will continue to be accommodated.

Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Doncaster Sheffield, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Humberside, Leeds Bradford, Luton, Manchester, Norwich, and Teesside are among the 15 airports affected.

“We can confirm that unfortunately, due to staff shortages with our catering supplier, there may be limited food and drink services available on board,” Tui UK and Ireland said. "Customers may therefore want to bring their own food and soft drinks onboard—no alcohol is permitted. Any soft drinks over 100ml will need to be purchased after you have passed through security."

Staff Shortage Curbing Strategies

The BY announcement comes after a rough month for UK travelers, with British Airways (BA) and easyJet (U2) both canceling hundreds of flights in April. On April 8, BA had to cancel 68 flights to destinations such as Athens and Prague, while U2 canceled 42.

The unusual action taken by BY reminds us of another out-of-the-box solution to the staffing shortage by U2, which recently announced it would remove seats from its A319 aircraft so three cabin crew could service flights instead of the usual four.

Featured image: TUI UK PH-TFL Boeing 787-8. Photo: Liam Funnell/Airways