PHOENIX — The familiar blue-and-white LSG Sky Chefs trucks at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport are the reason there is something to eat and drink at 30,000 feet.
Some airline catering workers, however, complain they are working in extreme conditions on the tarmac without properly functioning air conditioning in their vehicles.
“I got family. I got so many bills to pay, but I feel unsafe working,” said Filiberto Lares Cordova, who works for Sky Chefs.
He brought his concerns to the Phoenix City Council recently as the council discussed updates to a city heat ordinance that was passed more than a year ago. The ordinance aims to protect airport workers from the extreme Arizona heat.
As part of the ordinance, vehicles with enclosed cabs must have functioning AC no later than May 1, 2025.
Two months after this mandate kicked in, Lares and some other workers say the reality is different.
“The reality is that even now, most of the Sky Chefs trucks struggle to bring the temperature down with the new AC units,” he said.
A majority of the airlines at Sky Harbor contract with Sky Chefs for airline catering.
Phoenix Aviation Director Chad Makovsky told ABC15 the city launched an inspection on July 2, the same afternoon, after hearing the workers’ complaints.
“We did find instances where vehicles were not in compliance, where they did not have functioning air conditioning,” he said.
He said the city notified Sky Chefs and has given the company until July 15 to respond with a detailed plan. Then the city will make a formal determination about whether the company is in compliance with the city’s heat ordinance, he said.
In a letter to Sky Chefs obtained by ABC15 under a public-records request, the city informed the company earlier this week that spot inspections were conducted of 12 Sky Chefs trucks entering the airfield on July 2nd.
“None of the 12 inspected vehicles that afternoon had functioning air conditioning,” the city’s letter said. “Vehicle cabin temperatures were observed to be in excess of 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and air blowing from vehicle air conditioning vents was observed to range between 85 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Through these inspections, the City has determined that LSG Sky Chefs is not in compliance with the ordinance.”
The letter goes on to tell Sky Chefs to take immediate action to address the issue.
In a letter back to the city, Sky Chefs wrote that the city’s heat ordinance does not specifically define “functioning air conditioning” nor provide a clear standard. Sky Chefs said it conducted its own temperature measurements in company vehicles on July 3 using “commercially recommended devices for properly testing the air conditioning.” Sky Chefs said its temperature readings were “significantly lower than temperatures noted by the city.”
“Based on generally accepted standards in the industry, air conditioning units in the LSG Sky Chef’s vehicles are functioning,” the letter said.
Phoenix City Councilmember Betty Guardado, who helped lead last year’s effort to pass the city’s heat ordinance, told ABC15 that she believes Sky Chefs is in violation of the city’s ordinance.
“I think that’s inhumane,” she said, telling ABC15 she was “fuming” and “upset” as workers told the council about their complaints.
Sky Chefs told ABC15 in a statement Friday that the company places safety “at the forefront of everything we do.”
“We continue to work with our leadership and local teams to enhance our heat mitigation procedures to ensure the safety of our Phoenix team,” the statement said.
Sky Chefs went onto say all trucks in service at Sky Harbor have AC units installed. The units are tested regularly to ensure proper functionality and compliance with the heat ordinance.
Makovsky, the city’s aviation director, said there are more than 47,000 workers at Sky Harbor. While not all are employed by the city, “their safety is very important to us,” he said.
He said contractors and subcontractors are operating on city property.
“So we have a vested interest in making sure they are doing it in a way that keeps employees safe,” he said.
Email ABC15 Investigator Anne Ryman at anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook.
