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A traveler on an Air India plane expressed disappointment with the airline for serving her non-vegetarian food, despite the packaging being marked as meat-free.
Veera Jain, who goes by the username X on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, posted photos of her meal served on the Calicut-Mumbai flight.
Ms Jain wrote that on her Air India flight AI582, she received a vegetarian meal that unexpectedly contained chicken. She departed from Calicut airport and the flight was scheduled for 18.40 but ended up departing at 19.40.
The post quickly gained attention, as several users expressed worries about the airline’s procedures for handling food.
The post received a response from Air India, where a representative requested Ms Jain to reach out to them through direct message.
“Dear Ms. Jain, we kindly ask that you remove the requested information from the public tweet (to prevent misuse) and instead share it with us through direct message…along with your PNR,” replied the airline’s account.
Ms Jain’s photo shows the meal packaging labeled as “veg main meal”, but in the second photo, there is chicken alongside the rice dish.
Ms Jain reported that she had informed the cabin supervisor. She added, “The supervisor apologized and told me that there were multiple complaints about the same issue, not just from me and my friend.”
“Despite informing the crew, no measures were taken to notify other passengers with vegetarian meals.”
Ms. Jain’s flight, AI582, was also delayed by an hour.
“I am greatly disappointed by the delay in my vegetarian meal and the inclusion of non-vegetarian items. This has deeply hurt my feelings. I urge Air India to address this issue and take strict measures regarding their catering services and delays,” stated Ms Jain in her post.
Concluding her post, Ms Jain gave a cautionary message to fellow passengers, stating, “I urge you to carefully inspect the food you consume during a flight. After experiencing two significantly delayed flights (Mum-Kozhikode on 4th Jan and return on 8th Jan) and being served non-vegetarian food, I have lost confidence in all airline meals.”
The Independent has reached out to Air India for a statement.
Based on data from the Pew Research Center, dietary laws and customs are observed in all major religions in India. Hindu scriptures often promote vegetarianism and some adherents also refrain from consuming beef due to the cultural significance of cows. However, only 39% of Indian adults identify as vegetarians.
This is not the initial occurrence of dietary needs causing problems during a flight.
In the previous year, a first-class traveler on a trip to Japan who requested a vegan breakfast was confused when they received only a banana and a set of chopsticks.
Source: independent.co.uk
