Baby rats were found inside a service cart on board an Arkia Israeli Airlines (IZ) flight operating between Israel and Greece in June 2026. The discovery was made after the aircraft had already landed and was parked on the ground in Greece, triggering a public exchange of accusations between the airline and its catering contractor, Tamam Aircraft Food Industries. No passenger came into direct contact with the rodents, and the cart was taken out of service immediately upon discovery.
Arkia, Israel’s second-largest carrier, blamed the incident squarely on Tamam, which operates out of Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV), Tel Aviv [the airport that saw flurry of cancelations since 2024] and provides catering services to all Israeli airlines as well as numerous foreign carriers. Tamam, in turn, denied responsibility and threatened to pursue legal action against any party attempting to damage its reputation.
What Happened on the Arkia Flight?
According to preliminary internal findings cited in Israeli media, sealed bags containing rat pups were discovered inside a closed service cart supplied for the flight. The discovery was only made after the plane landed in Greece while parked on the ground, prompting an investigation into how the incident occurred. A flight attendant also reportedly noticed disposable foam cups with bite marks, suggesting rodent activity inside the equipment.
According to Arkia, the cart in which the baby rats were discovered came from the dry-goods storage facilities of the catering company TMM and did not contain food intended for passenger service. The company emphasized that, upon discovery, the cart was immediately taken out of service and that there was no contact between it and any food served during the flight.
The bite marks on foam cups, in particular, pointed to the rats having been present inside the sealed trolley for some time before or during the flight. That detail shifted the question from whether the infestation had occurred to when and where it had begun.
Arkia’s Responded by Demanding a Full Investigation
Arkia moved quickly to distance itself from the incident while directing scrutiny toward Tamam. Arkia stated:
“The incident was discovered in an equipment cart that came from the Tamam dry equipment warehouse, and not in food intended for serving to passengers. As soon as the finding was discovered, the cart was taken out of use and the issue was addressed immediately.”
The airline also made clear it expected concrete corrective action. Arkia stated:
“Tamam is the catering provider responsible for the preparation, storage and transportation of food, and provides catering services to all Israeli airlines as well as many foreign airlines operating at Ben Gurion Airport. It is fully responsible for the warehouses, equipment, sanitary conditions and quality control in its facilities.”
Arkia said it is treating the incident with the utmost seriousness and has called on TMM to carry out a full investigation into how it happened. The airline is also seeking a detailed explanation and expects the catering company to implement corrective measures to prevent a similar incident from occurring again.
Tamam Threatened with Legal Action
Tamam did not accept Arkia’s characterisation of events. The catering company issued a firm rebuttal, insisting the cart had passed all required inspections before departure.
The catering company stated that:
“any attempt to cast doubt on the TMM facility, which supplies hundreds of thousands of meals per month and operates under the strictest food safety standards, is unacceptable and will, if necessary, be addressed in court.”
Tamam also provided a specific account of the pre-departure checks, stating:
“The trolley in question, which contained soft drinks only, was inspected as on every flight by an Arkia crew member and a representative of the catering facility, who confirmed that the trolley was fully compliant when it was loaded. The incident was discovered later, while the aircraft was parked in Greece,”
Tamam rejected the claims and shifted responsibility back to Arkia. The company said that the cart in question, which reportedly contained only soft drinks, was inspected by both an Arkia crew member and a catering representative before loading and was found to be fully compliant.
In a notable reversal, Tamam used precisely the same language as Arkia to demand accountability. TMM urged Arkia to “conduct an urgent and in-depth investigation to determine how such a serious incident occurred on its aircraft.”
Tamam is a Dominant Force in Israeli Aviation Catering
Understanding the scale of Tamam is essential to appreciating the reputational stakes involved. For over 60 years, Tamam has been Israel’s senior most leading kosher food airlines caterer, supplying over five million meals per year from a wide variety of menus. Over 100 different menus are supplied daily to passengers of various airlines, with an emphasis on product quality and visibility.
Tamam, which is owned by national carrier El Al and bills itself as “Israel’s senior most leading kosher food airlines caterer,” produced up to 40,000 meals a day prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, supplying both local and foreign airlines. The company’s factory is located at the airport itself, placing it at the heart of Israel’s aviation supply chain.
The report also indicated that an internal investigation is examining several possible explanations, including a potential link to pest control operations conducted at Ben Gurion Airport and at catering facilities under Ministry of Health supervision. No final conclusions have yet been published.
According to international aviation safety guidelines published by SKYbrary, “aircraft operators should ensure systems are in place both to identify possible infestation and provide suitable destruction methods”:
Galley worktops on which rodents may have walked must be disinfected before use. Food suspected of being contaminated by rodents must be destroyed.”
How Rodents Reach Aircraft
Rodents entering aircraft through catering equipment is a documented vulnerability across the global aviation industry. Although planes have different hygiene checks in place, many pests still manage to get inside the aircraft through food catering trucks and luggage trolleys.
An aviation pest control expert, cited by ABC News in the context of a prior airline rodent incident, described four principal entry points:
“Rodents usually have four ways they can come into an airplane: the airports, jet ways, food carts or food vending companies, and cargo,” said pest control director Ron Harrison. “The challenge becomes a confined space like this, a perfect habitat for rodents.”
Food carts and catering equipment rank among the most common vectors precisely because they travel between warehouse storage and aircraft galleys, often passing through multiple loading points. The IATA’s food safety framework for airline catering requires:
- A documented pest management system at all catering facilities
- Regular visual inspections during audits
- Prevention and eradication protocols for infestations
- Mandatory equipment segregation between clean and unclean areas
- Supervisor-approved hygiene standards throughout the trolley supply chain
A Few Recent Incidents of Rats on Planes
In December 2025, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines faced a far more operationally disruptive incident. The incident occurred on a KLM flight operating from Amsterdam to Aruba, with an onward connection to Bonaire.
According to the airline, the rodent was first noticed while the flight was still underway. Instead of immediately returning to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, the crew continued the flight to Aruba, where the aircraft was immediately grounded. Due to the infestation, KLM stated that the aircraft could not operate its scheduled return flight to Amsterdam until it underwent extensive cleaning and thorough safety inspections. The scheduled return flight was subsequently canceled, impacting 254 passengers.
Delta Air Lines received a formal FDA warning letter after federal investigators found rat droppings in ceiling panels near the food preparation area of an aircraft. Delta’s spokesperson stated at the time that it was “an isolated incident” and that the airline “cooperated with the FDA immediately.”
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What Aviation Food Safety Rules Say About This
The responsibilities of catering companies are clearly delineated in international frameworks. The IATA’s World Food Safety Guidelines for Airline Catering require catering operators to maintain documented standard operating procedures for pest control, cleaning and sanitation, and physical hazard prevention. Trolleys must be inspected as part of a formal equipment management system, and any indication of pest activity must trigger immediate escalation.
The Joint Inspection Programme (JIP), administered by IATA and CUSS, provides a standardised audit framework for airline catering units. Catering companies that pass JIP audits demonstrate compliance with hygiene protocols that include rodent prevention. It is not known whether Tamam holds a current JIP certification or whether this incident will trigger a formal audit review.