British Airways is being forced to despatch some flights without any food and the airline is blaming a dire shortage of security staff at its Heathrow hub for its catering woes.

The problem, the airline claims, isn’t down to a staff shortage at its catering department but rather a lack of Heathrow airport security staff holding up catering truck deliveries to the aircraft side. Like most airports, catering supplies at Heathrow are prepared outside the airport secure zone and then driven ‘airside’ via a security checkpoint. The catering trucks are normally sealed and don’t need to be searched but the drivers and caterers have to be screened just like any other passenger or member of staff.

It would appear, though, that Heathrow is diverting security staff from these staff checkpoints in order to reduce the massive queues that are plaguing the airport’s passenger security screening areas. As a result, the catering trucks are being left to idle and there’s no guarantee that food and other provisions will make it to flights in time.