Passengers on board British Airways flight BA 252 from Nassau’s Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) on July 23, 2023 were served an unusual, finger-licking good inflight meal: Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).
How did this happen?
Based on social media rants from passengers and various media reports, the airline experienced a catering issue in Providenciales International Airport (PLS), where the flight originally came from.
The aircraft’s catering carts were not properly chilled, so all food had to be thrown away due to food poisoning risk. This was not just the food from PLS Airport to Nassau, but also for the eight hour and 25 minute flight from Nassau to London.
Making a decision
Faced with a dilemma, British Airways had to choose between two unfavorable scenarios: wait for a new batch of catering, which can mean several hours of flight delay, or stick to the flight schedule and source inflight food somewhere else as soon as possible.
The airline chose to fly on time, and ordered the quickest inflight meal substitute: KFC. The
KFC from Nassau was not able to fulfill hundreds of chicken orders at such short notice, so passengers were given just one piece of chicken each.
One of the passengers from the flight was able to take video footage of British Airways staff holding buckets of KFC and handing the chicken pieces out to passengers with tongs.
The airline surely weighed the pros and cons before making the decision to go with KFC. One of the downsides is that passengers who needed special meals had no choice, and everyone else, including those on business class, had to contend with one piece of chicken.
The flight departed and arrived more than an hour later than the expected schedule, which was still impressive given the situation.
Passengers said they were offered vouchers to make up for the inconvenience.
