Airlines putting chicken, egg back on flight menus

New Delhi, Mar 9 (UNI) With the threat of avian flu fading and no fresh case being reported in the past 15 days, major airlines in the country are putting chicken and egg back on their flight menus.

This follows assurance from the government that bird flu cannot be transmitted to humans through properly cooked food.

Jet Airways, the country's largest operator, and Indian, the government-owned airline, have asked caterers to get chicken back on their flight menu.

''Jet has taken this step following a directive from the ministry of health and family welfare,'' said the airline, adding that chicken and egg non-vegetarian options will now be available on all flights across its network.

International carriers like South African Airlines, Delta, Air France and Emirates have also asked TajSats to start serving poultry on board their flights from tomorrow.

After the bird flu virus was detected in Maharashtra around February 20, the poultry industry was hit as catering services, including those of several airlines and the state-run railways, took chicken off their menus.

While the railways stopped serving the all-time favourite egg curry on certain routes, airline caterers have substituted poultry products with mutton, lamb and fish.

Some airlines asked their caterers to revise the menu while those like Chef Air and Taj voluntarily stopped supplying chicken.

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