Rat pups found in Arkia plane; airline trades blame with catering firm

A bag containing rat pups was found yesterday inside an Arkia plane immediately after a flight from Israel to Greece, with the airline and an in-flight food catering company trading blame, Hebrew media report.

The bag was reportedly discovered as the plane was on the tarmac in Preveza, inside a cart containing water and single-use cups that was meant to be used during the subsequent return flight to Tel Aviv.

Arkia issues a statement blaming the incident on the Tamam Aircraft Food Industries company, saying the cart was received from the firm’s storage facility.

“Immediately upon the finding’s discovery, the cart was decommissioned and the matter was dealt with immediately,” it says, stressing that the animals had no contact at any point with the food served or meant to be served to passengers or crew.

Arkia claims that Tamam is responsible for the catering equipment and storage sites, as well as for sanitary conditions and quality assurance in its facilities, saying it “expects full explanations alongside corrective steps that will ensure that such an incident doesn’t repeat.”

Tamam hits back, saying that it operates in accordance with the highest quality standards and that any attempt to fault it “is unacceptable and, if needed, will be answered in court.”

The firm says the cart was checked before the flight by an airline representative and by a food factory representative, “and was found completely in order when it was loaded.”

“Arkia must urgently and thoroughly probe how such a grave incident happened on its plane,” it says.