The catering unit is built in 1968 on a 3260 square meters of land and expanded in 1986 to accommodate the growing operational needs of Ethiopian Airlines. We renovated the previous building to work 24/7 in conjunction with the newly inaugurated ultramodern catering facility built in 2016 on 11,500 square meters. Ethiopian in-flight catering is one of the seven strategic business units (SBU) under Ethiopian Aviation Group. In total, it has more than 604 permanent employees and 394 temporary employees who produce 100,000 meals per day for passengers traveling on average more than 125 flights. An automated entrance door access control system is implemented to allow authorized personnel and employees to enter the facility as part of security and COVID-19 control measures.

VIP and Charter flights, which often shuttle to and from the Addis Ababa hub, are prominent customers of the Catering Unit. The Catering Unit is strictly guided by HACCP policies and procedures, which promote a high level of quality management for the safe production and handling of all catering services. In line with Ethiopian’s vision, the Catering Unit is newly structured and organized as a Strategic Business Unit (SBU), consisting of seven sections, including the Department of In-flight Catering Quality Management System & Safety Management System, Food Production, Operations, Procurement and Supply Chain, HR Development & Finance–Catering, Route Catering, and Catering Facility Maintenance.