Game over for Jat Catering

The good old days - a passenger enjoys a meal provided by Jat Catering in the 1980s

Jat Catering has, for the past several decades, provided meals for Jat Airways flights. Although separated from the airline in 2005 as an independent company, it solely provided meals to the Serbian national carrier until January 14 when it went on strike. The strike action caused an absence of meals for 2 days on board Jat aircraft until Airport Catering Belgrade was asked to step in and provide meals. A Jat Catering spokeswomen says that Jat owes 41 million Dinars (416.000 Euros) to the company. Jat denies the claims and says the strike was illegal as there was no prior notice.

Jat Catering could now disappear after Jat Airways commenced tender procedures to find a new company which should provide meals to the airline on all outbound flights out of Belgrade. The tender will last for 30 days and the new company should be providing meals effective immediately. The company with the least expensive offer will be chosen. The future meal provider must also have all sanitary certificates and must have tasty and presentable food, according to a Jat statement. For the past month Airport Catering Belgrade has provided meals to the airline while Jat’s ground handling unit SU-PORT has provided drinks.

Jat Catering was, until 1990, the most modern and best equipped catering unit in Europe having the most modern facilities for food production at Belgrade Airport and producing thousands of meals per day. The food production building was spread over 8.000 square metres and Jat Catering was the largest food production company in the former Yugoslavia. In 2005, it was decided that Jat Catering should be separated from Jat Airways. Furthermore, the company was divided and a new catering company, Airport Catering Belgrade, was created. Jat Catering significantly decreased its meal offering in 2008 when the then management of Jat Airways decided it would cut costs by offering less food to passengers.

Meanwhile, the Government of Serbia said that it offered to help Jat Catering a year ago but the company was not interested. The Government now says that it is up to Jat Catering to solve its own problems.

With no customers, the company which has existed for decades may soon disappear. For the first time in its long history Jat Airways will no longer be serving meals prepared by Jat Catering.