Glatt kosher consumers will soon no longer be forced to bag their own meals when traveling through Ben Gurion International (BGI) Airport.

The Israel Airports Authority plans to issue a tender to operate a glatt kosher (a stricter standard of kosher supervision) meat restaurant in the airport’s duty-free area. The move is intended to meet the growing demand from the religious community for a stricter supervision.

The winning bid will result in a four-year contract to operate the restaurant, which is available to the millions of departing passengers who fly out of the airport each year.

At present, food at BGI carries the standard rabbinical kosher certification, which does not satisfy the demands of a growing sector of religious travelers.

Kosher Food in the Air
Once on the plane, passengers who have requested kosher food from their travel agents will receive meals that were prepared in the Ben Gurion commissary. Those who request Glatt kosher meals must indicate that when they submit their request.

Passengers who fly on El Al automatically receive kosher food, certified by the local Orthodox kosher supervision agency in each country where it is prepared.

The supervising rabbi for El Al sets the standards for the entire airline network throughout the world, although the food is prepared in local commissaries at airports in different countries. Each commissary is certified by that country’s local kosher supervision agency; for example, in the U.S. all meals are certified by the OU.

Passengers who request Glatt, or Mehadrin supervision – a stricter level of kosher certification – receive their meals from HaMasbia Caterers, supervised by the Badatz (Beis Din Tzedek) of the Eida HaChareidis organization. These meals are prepared on disposable dishes and come double-wrapped and sealed.