Four American Airlines flight attendants sickened by leftover meals
Four American Airlines flight attendants got sick after eating leftover passenger meals on an empty flight from Dallas to Rome, aviation sites report. The pilots told the airline less than an hour after landing. The meals are a suspected cause, not a proven one, and American has not commented.
Four American Airlines flight attendants got sick after eating leftover passenger meals on a flight with no passengers, aviation news sites reported this week.
The crew were riding as passengers on a Boeing 777-200 that American flew empty from Dallas-Fort Worth to Rome. The airline needed the plane in Rome after it canceled a scheduled flight back to Dallas. The jet left Dallas on the afternoon of October 3 and landed at Rome Fiumicino early on October 4.
Less than an hour after landing, the pilots sent a message to American's operations center in Fort Worth. It said four of the flight attendants had fallen ill after eating unserved meals left over from an earlier flight, Aviation A2Z reported, citing the first report by AirLive.
Where the food came from is unclear. Before the Rome trip, the plane had flown from Milan to New York on the night of October 2, then been ferried empty to Dallas. Paddle Your Own Kanoo raised the question of whether the crew ate catering from the Milan flight that was more than a day old.
No germ or medical diagnosis has been named. Aviation A2Z stressed that the meals are a suspected source, not a proven one. Proving food poisoning would mean testing leftover food and matching it with samples from the sick crew.
Food poisoning on planes is rare, given how many meals airlines serve. Meals travel in chilled vans and sit in cooled galley storage. Trouble usually starts if that storage fails or is switched off.
The plane stayed in Rome for about a day. It then flew home to Dallas with passengers on board as flight AA9601, departing early on October 5.
American Airlines had not responded to requests for comment, Paddle Your Own Kanoo said. The condition of the four crew members has not been reported.
For travelers, the takeaway is simple: meals are meant to be eaten on the flight they were loaded for. Crew and passengers alike should skip food that has sat out or rides along on a later flight.
What we know: Four crew fell ill after eating leftover meals on an empty flight.
What we don't: What made them sick or how they are doing.
Where outlets agree Aviation A2Z and Paddle Your Own Kanoo both report that pilots told American's operations center within about an hour of landing in Rome that four flight attendants had fallen ill.
Where they differ Paddle Your Own Kanoo says the canceled Rome-Dallas flight that set off the trip was scheduled for October 2, while Aviation A2Z says that flight, AA239, was canceled on October 3.
That’s the last story in this edition. See every brief from Sat, Oct 10, 2026.