Food waste composition, hotspots and sustainability impacts in an airline catering kitchen

Aviation generates substantial food waste worldwide, yet the focus has mainly been on post-flight waste, leaving upstream production processes in airline catering understudied. This mixed-methods single case study investigated food waste composition, hotspots and drivers in a Swedish airline catering kitchen, and assessed associated environmental (carbon), economic (procurement cost) and social (nutritional) impacts. Over 21 weekdays, waste audits recorded 1.39 tonnes of food waste, largely edible (89%), corresponding to 3.1 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents, €9250 in procurement costs, and 93 kg of protein and 29 kg of dietary fibre losses. Hot kitchen operations, trolley waste and crew meals were the main hotspots, accounting for most edible waste and associated impacts. A divergence between volume-driven and intensity-driven hotspots was found, with vegetables and staple foods driving economic losses and fibre waste, and animal-based foods dominating climate impacts and protein losses. Notably, staple foods emerged as a balanced hotspot across several impact dimensions. Semi-structured staff interviews (n = 8) identified overly strict food safety routines, late airline and crew changes, forecasting mismatches, and coordination gaps as key structural drivers of waste, leading to recurrent overproduction and limited flexibility in meal handling. By shifting attention from downstream to upstream, the study shows that targeting kitchen-stage processes offers a viable route to reducing avoidable waste by addressing systemic inefficiencies and rigid safety buffers. Integrating contractual cut-off times for order changes into procurement and governance measures that encourage shared responsibility for waste prevention offers a pathway to improving resource efficiency while maintaining food safety and service standards.