How Cathay works with Feeding Hong Kong to donate inflight surplus food

At Cathay, we serve millions of inflight meals each year. Inevitably, some of the food and beverages aren’t consumed, but we’ve found a way to prevent them from going to waste: by donating our excess resources to the communities that need them in our home city.

In 2014, Cathay Pacific became the first airline to partner with Feeding Hong Kong , a non-profit organisation and registered charity that redistributes high-quality surplus from wholesalers, retailers and other food companies to more than 150 frontline charities in the city.

“There was a real meeting of minds when Cathay first approached us,” says Gabrielle Kirstein OBE, Feeding Hong Kong’s founder and CEO. “We wanted to address the issue of food waste on Cathay Pacific’s inbound flights and make sure that the surplus was used to support the community instead of ending up in the landfill.”

Due to food safety regulations, cooked meals cannot be donated, but packaged food and drink items are suitable for redistribution. Products such as bottled water, juices, canned beverages, soft drinks, snacks, cereal, long-life milk and fresh fruit are separated from the inbound meal carts at Cathay Dining by a team of Feeding Hong Kong staff every day. The items are then transported to Feeding Hong Kong’s 11,500sq ft warehouse in Yau Tong, where volunteers sort and pack them before they’re distributed to the recipient charities. 

“Cathay has been a partner in so many ways, from donating surplus food to providing cardboard boxes that can be reused as packaging,” Kirstein says. 

“We’re proud to be involved at every level of this partnership, having supported Feeding Hong Kong for over 10 years,” adds Andy Wong, Cathay General Manager Corporate Affairs. “We engage our people in this initiative too. I would like to sincerely thank our volunteers from across Cathay over the years.”

Since 2014, 2,250 tonnes of inflight food have been collected and redistributed to people in need, benefitting 260,000 individuals over the past decade.

“This partnership underscores our commitment to building sustainable and responsible practices into every part of our operations,” Wong says. “Feeding Hong Kong is a great cause, and we hope people will join us in efforts to minimise food waste for the good of our society.”