Emirates Flight Catering

Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC) is an aviation catering and support-services company headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group and is best known for preparing, assembling, and delivering in-flight meals for Emirates airline and for other carriers operating from Dubai International Airport. Its activities also extend to airport-lounge catering, laundry, linen services, and large-scale food production. The company was established in 2003 from Emirates Abela Catering Company, as the Emirates aviation business developed a dedicated catering organization. Its operating model combines centralized food production with highly specialized airport logistics. Meals and related supplies must be prepared to strict schedules, transported in temperature-controlled conditions, and loaded onto aircraft using vehicles and equipment designed for different aircraft types and turnaround requirements. EKFC’s principal operating base is the Emirates Flight Catering Centre in Dubai. The company’s facilities have been described as capable of producing more than 225,000 meals per day. In 2017, it reportedly supplied approximately 55 million meals, with an average daily meal uplift of about 180,000 meals. The business directly employs more than 11,000 people and operates a large fleet of catering and support vehicles, including high-loader trucks and equipment adapted for Airbus A380 operations. A major part of the company’s infrastructure is Food Point, a production facility at Dubai Investment Park that began operating in July 2005. The facility was designed for annual production of up to 30 million meals. A separate facility dedicated to Emirates flights began operations in early 2006 and was described as having daily capacity exceeding 115,000 meals. The older production site continued serving international airlines operating from Dubai Airport and supported catering for Dubai Airports’ lounges. EKFC also expanded its Linencraft operation, a specialist laundry and dry-cleaning facility serving aviation and hospitality requirements. The company’s customer base is therefore broader than its relationship with Emirates alone. It provides catering and related support to airlines based at Dubai International Airport, including international carriers, while also supporting airport lounges and other institutional food-service needs. Its scale reflects Dubai’s role as a major global aviation hub and the high volume of passengers handled by airlines operating there. In February 2024, Emirates Flight Catering completed the full acquisition of Emirates Bustanica, previously known as Emirates Crop One. Bustanica operates a large indoor vertical farm and is described in the supplied reference material as the world’s largest indoor vertical farm. The acquisition broadened EKFC’s food-production interests beyond conventional aviation catering and strengthened its connection to locally produced fresh ingredients and controlled-environment agriculture. EKFC remains an active operating company within The Emirates Group, with aviation catering continuing to be its core identity.

Emirates Flight Catering was formed in 2003 out of Emirates Abela Catering Company. Its creation gave the Emirates aviation business a dedicated catering organization at a time when Dubai was developing into a major international air-transport hub. The company’s role was not limited to preparing food: it also had to coordinate production, cold-chain handling, aircraft provisioning, equipment, and the rapid delivery of meals and supplies to aircraft at Dubai International Airport. In July 2005, EKFC began operations at Food Point, a 10,000-square-metre facility located at Dubai Investment Park. The facility was designed to produce up to 30 million meals annually and became an important part of the company’s wider food-production network. The project was designed and project-managed by European Projects, a United Kingdom-based specialist food-design company that later became International Food Systems Ltd. During early 2006, the company began operating a new catering facility dedicated to Emirates flights. That facility was described as having capacity for more than 115,000 meals per day. The older facility continued to serve the other international airlines operating from Dubai Airport and also supported catering for 25 Dubai Airports lounges. This division of activity enabled EKFC to support both its principal airline relationship and a broader airport-services customer base. EKFC also expanded Linencraft, its specialist laundering operation. Linencraft is located at Dubai Investment Park and occupies approximately 10,500 square metres. Following an expansion completed by 2007, its stated processing capability increased to as much as 210 tonnes of laundry and dry-cleaning output per day, compared with an earlier processing volume of up to 80 tonnes per day. The operation illustrates how EKFC’s aviation-support role includes the handling of linen and related services in addition to food. As the company expanded, it developed substantial production and logistics capacity. The Emirates Flight Catering Centre was described as capable of producing more than 225,000 meals daily. EKFC has also been reported to employ more than 11,000 staff and to operate 295 high-loader trucks together with 89 specialized vehicles for Airbus A380 operations. In 2017, the company reportedly provided around 55 million meals, with an average daily meal uplift of approximately 180,000 meals. The company’s most significant recent strategic change in the supplied material occurred in February 2024, when EKFC completed the full acquisition of Emirates Bustanica, previously called Emirates Crop One. Bustanica is an indoor vertical-farming business and has been described as the world’s largest indoor vertical farm. Bringing it fully into EKFC broadened the group’s food-related activities into controlled-environment agriculture and fresh-produce production. Today, Emirates Flight Catering remains an active subsidiary of The Emirates Group. Its core business is still aviation catering for Emirates and airlines based at Dubai International Airport, supported by airport-lounge catering, food-production facilities, logistics, laundry, and linen services. Its scale and integrated infrastructure reflect the demanding operational requirements of a major international aviation hub.

• 2024

  Full acquisition of Emirates Bustanica

  [1]Emirates Flight Cateringen.wikipedia.org

  EKFC completes the full acquisition of Emirates Bustanica, formerly Emirates Crop One, adding a large indoor vertical-farming operation to its food-production portfolio.

• 2017

  Reported annual meal production reaches approximately 55 million

  [1]Emirates Flight Cateringen.wikipedia.org

  The company is reported to have provided about 55 million meals during the year, with average daily meal uplift of approximately 180,000 meals.

• 2007

  Linencraft expands processing capacity

  [1]Emirates Flight Cateringen.wikipedia.org

  The Linencraft laundering operation expands from an earlier capacity of up to 80 tonnes per day to a reported capability of up to 210 tonnes of laundry and dry-cleaning output per day.

• 2006

  Dedicated Emirates catering facility opens

  [1]Emirates Flight Cateringen.wikipedia.org

  A new facility dedicated to Emirates flights begins operations, with reported capacity exceeding 115,000 meals per day. The earlier facility continues serving other airlines and Dubai Airports lounges.

• 2005

  Food Point begins operations

  [1]Emirates Flight Cateringen.wikipedia.org

  Food Point opens at Dubai Investment Park as a 10,000-square-metre food-production facility designed for annual output of up to 30 million meals.

• 2003

  Emirates Flight Catering is formed

  [1]Emirates Flight Cateringen.wikipedia.org

  The company is established from Emirates Abela Catering Company as a dedicated aviation-catering organization within The Emirates Group.

A large-scale, operationally integrated aviation catering provider built around Dubai’s international-airport ecosystem, with adjacent capabilities in airport hospitality, laundry, food production, and controlled-environment agriculture.

• Aviation catering · 2003

  Airline in-flight catering

  EKFC prepares and provisions meals for Emirates flights and for other airlines operating from Dubai International Airport. The service encompasses large-scale food production, preparation for scheduled flight departures, specialized handling, and delivery to aircraft through dedicated airport logistics and loading equipment.

• Food production facility · 2005

  Food Point

  Food Point is EKFC’s food-production facility at Dubai Investment Park. Opened in 2005, it occupies approximately 10,000 square metres and was designed for annual production of up to 30 million meals. It forms part of the company’s broader production network serving aviation and related food-service requirements.

• Airport hospitality

  Airport lounge catering

  In addition to aircraft meals, EKFC provides food-service support for airport lounges. Its facilities have been described as supporting 25 Dubai Airports lounges, extending the company’s role into passenger hospitality services within the airport environment.

• Laundry and linen services

  Linencraft

  Linencraft is EKFC’s specialist laundering operation at Dubai Investment Park. The approximately 10,500-square-metre facility handles laundry and dry-cleaning requirements associated with aviation and hospitality operations. Its reported processing capacity expanded substantially following an upgrade completed in 2007.

• Indoor vertical farming

  Bustanica

  Bustanica is the consumer-facing name of the indoor vertical-farming business formerly known as Emirates Crop One. Following EKFC’s full acquisition in 2024, the operation became part of the company’s broader food and fresh-produce portfolio. The supplied reference describes it as the world’s largest indoor vertical farm.

• 2024

  Complete acquisition of Emirates BustanicaM&A

  Background

  EKFC had an aviation-catering core but was also developing a broader food-production portfolio. Emirates Bustanica, formerly Emirates Crop One, operated a major indoor vertical farm and represented an adjacent food-supply capability.

  Action taken

  Emirates Flight Catering completed the full acquisition of Emirates Bustanica.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition expanded EKFC’s business scope into controlled-environment agriculture and brought the vertical-farming operation fully within its portfolio.

  Source

1. 1Emirates Flight Cateringen.wikipedia.org