What Airline Catering Truck Drivers and Helpers Need to Know about COVID-19

As an airline catering truck driver or helper, you could be exposed to COVID-19 in situations such as having close contact with someone with COVID-19 or touching your mouth, nose, or eyes after handling frequently touched items used by someone with COVID-19 such as catering and food service carts, used non-disposable food service items (e.g., utensils and serving trays), and solid waste.

• Limit close contact with others by maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet, when possible.
• If cleaning and disinfection is required before you perform your job duties, first review CDC cleaning guidance for Airlines and Airline Crew: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
• Do not enter the aircraft cabin if an ill traveler has been identified on a flight until after the ill traveler has been removed and enhanced cleaning has been performed.
• Follow your employer’s normal guidance for handling solid waste from domestic and international flights.
• Practice cleaning of high-touch surfaces and objects regularly (for example, daily or as often as needed). Follow the directions on the cleaning product’s label.
• Wear your normally required personal protective equipment (PPE) to perform your job tasks on the airplane.
• Wear gloves when handling non-disposable food service items used by passengers including utensils and serving trays, as usual.
• Proper hand hygiene is an important infection control measure. Wash your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol.
• Key times to clean hands in general include:
  • Before, during, and after preparing food
  • Before eating food
  • After using the toilet
  • After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
• Additional times to clean hands on the job include:
  • Before and after work shifts
  • Before and after work breaks
  • After touching frequently touched surfaces such as food service carts
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.

Employers of airline catering truck drivers or helpers should have a COVID-19 health and safety plan to protect employees. This plan should be shared with you and your coworkers. Your employer should:

• Take steps to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 if an employee is sick. Actively encourage sick employees to stay home. Sick employees should not return to work until the criteria to discontinue home isolation are met, in consultation with healthcare providers and state and local health departments.
• Provide information on whom to contact if employees become sick.
• Implement flexible sick leave and supportive policies and practices. Consider drafting non-punitive emergency sick leave policies if sick leave is not offered to some or all employees.
• Designate someone to be responsible for responding to COVID-19 concerns. Employees should know who this person is and how to contact them.
• Provide employees with accurate information about COVID-19, its symptoms, how it spreads, and risk of exposure.
• Provide training on proper hand washing practices and other routine infection control precautions. This will help prevent the spread of many diseases, including COVID-19.
• Provide employees with the normally required PPE and provide training on using it.
• Provide employees with access to soap, clean running water, and drying materials, or alcohol-based hand sanitizers containing at least 60% alcohol at their worksite.
• Provide disposable disinfecting wipes so that commonly touched surfaces such as workstations, catering and food service carts, door handles, tables, countertops, steering wheels and other commonly touched surfaces inside the truck can be wiped down by employees. Use products to disinfect that meet EPA’s criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2external icon, diluted household bleach solutions, or alcohol solutions with at least 70% alcohol, and are appropriate for the surface. Follow manufacturer’s directions for use.
• Provide tissues and no-touch disposal containers for employees.
• Frequently clean employee break rooms, rest areas, and other common areas.
• Place posters that encourage staying home when sick, covering coughs and sneezes, and washing hands often at the entrance to the workplace and in other workplace areas where employees are likely to see them.
• Follow all applicable federal worker safety and health regulations and public health agency guidelines.