railway catering). Within this last sector, a further distinction must be made between catering services provided on board ships, aircraft, or trains — which may be referred to as “in-transit catering” — and those offered within transport infrastructures such as railway and maritime stations or airport terminals. To support the delineation of these distinct relevant markets, it is useful to refer to the definition adopted by the Italian Competition Authority (Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato) in relation to the air transport sector, where “airport catering” is understood to include “all commercial food service activities located within airports or in their immediate vicinity, such as fast food outlets, self-service facilities, bars, and traditional restaurants”56 . The Italian Competition Authority has specified that catering services provided within airport environments, exhibit distinctive features that set them apart from general commercial catering. This is due both to the specific nature of their target users — namely, passengers in transit, either departing or arriving — and to the fact that the companies providing such services operate within an airport infrastructure, thereby being subject to particular regulatory and logistical constraints inherent to that setting. In-flight catering includes the production, preparation, and supply of meals, beverages, comfort food and items, and meal accessories intended for use on board aircraft, as well as the transportation, loading, and placement of such items on board. This service also includes the retrieval of on-board equipment, dishwashing, and the disposal of related waste materials. The so-called “in-transit catering,” provided on board moving means of transport such as trains, aircraft, or ships, entails specific features closely linked to the type of transport used. These characteristics affect the operational dynamics of the service providers, the organization of personnel, the technological equipment required, and the procedures to be followed concerning safety and security, as well as the handling and distribution of food and the contractual arrangements to be put in place. 10.1 Naval catering For the purposes of this analysis, legal scholarship has focused in particular on air and maritime catering, as these two sectors exhibit distinct characteristics, closely tied to both the nature of the transport vehicle involved and the specific features of the journey to which the service is functionally linked. 56 Definition contained in the decision of the Italian AGCM dated 24th November 1999, n. 7759 (C3726) Gate Gourmet holding Netherlands-Ligabue/Ligabue Gate gourmet. 51 ITALY, FOOD, CONTRACTS
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