Airline catering and logistics provider Gate Gourmet has announced that it is to acquire airline catering units in five cities from Air Berlin and SCK Sky Catering Kitchen GmbH.

German carrier Air Berlin has also entered into a new long-term catering contract with Gate Gourmet in Germany and the rest of Europe.

Gate Gourmet said that the flight kitchens included in the transaction are located at Dusseldorf, Cologne/Bonn, Munster/Osnabruck, Leipzig/Halle and Paderborn. A total of 18,000 flights a year are reportedly served by the five facilities.

The operation, which is formally named SCK DUS GmbH & Co KG Dusseldorf, is a joint venture between Air Berlin and SCK Sky Catering Kitchen GmbH Bordverpflegung & Co Service KG Ulm.

The transaction is subject to review by competition authorities in Germany.

Financial terms were not disclosed.