Airline Flight Kitchen MEP — FSSAI Schedule 4 + IATA CSM + Codex + HACCP + ISO 22000

A 25,000-meals/day airline flight kitchen needs ₹38 Cr MEP capex with 12 temperature-zoned production halls (raw 15-18°C / cold storage 0-4°C / hot kitchen 22-26°C / cooling tunnel -2 to +4°C / cold assembly mandatory ≤ 12°C / dispatch hold 4-8°C) per FSSAI Schedule 4 + IATA CSM + Codex + ISO 22000 HACCP. Three failures FSSAI + IATA audits catch: cold assembly room > 12°C “for staff comfort”, single AHU + shared return mixing raw-and-ready streams, cooling tunnel under-spec missing HACCP 60°C → 4°C in < 4 hr requirement.

Airline catering / flight kitchen — the standards stack

India airline catering (TajSATS, Oberoi Flight Services, Ambassador Sky Chef, LSG Sky Chefs India) supplies 350-1500 meals per aircraft load, with 6-24 hour shelf life under chilled to ambient. The standards stack is the most stringent in F&B — FSSAI Schedule 4 + Codex Alimentarius + ISO 22000 HACCP + HACCP-Aviation Catering specific + IATA CSM (Catering Safety Manual) + NACMCF guidelines + cold-chain ISO 22716. The MEP is dominated by temperature-zoned production halls + traffic-flow prevention of cross-contamination + bottling/sealing rooms + segregated allergen lines.

Flight kitchen MEP scope — 25,000 meals/day capacity

Three flight-kitchen MEP failures FSSAI + IATA audit catches

1. Cold assembly room > 12°C — IATA CSM + Codex require final assembly + packing at ≤ 12°C with continuous monitoring. Indian flight kitchens often run assembly at 18-22°C “to be comfortable for staff” — fails CSM. Specify pre-cooled gowns + airlock entry + station-cooled work surfaces, not warmer room temp.
2. Single AHU + shared return between zones — flight kitchen requires segregated AHU per zone (raw / cooked / allergen / wash) with NO return-air mixing. Many Indian designs run common AHU for cost, allowing aerosol transfer of meat-borne pathogens to ready-to-eat assembly area.
3. Cooling tunnel under-spec — cooked food must cool from 60°C → 4°C in < 4 hours per HACCP. Conventional cold room takes 6-8 hours = bacterial growth window. Specify blast chiller / cooling tunnel sized for hourly throughput at 4-hour cycle.