Emirates to discontinue `Hindu meal` service on flights; have other vegetarian meal options on menu

Abu Dhabi: Dubai-based airline Emirates said that it has decided to discontinue the 'Hindi meal' service. The announcement from the largest airline in the Middle East came on Tuesday.

In an official statement issued by the airline, Emirates said that the decision to withdraw the above-mentioned option from its in-flight menu was taken following a review of the onboard products and services.

"As part of our continuous review of the products and services available to customers, Emirates can confirm that it will discontinue the 'Hindu' meal option. We constantly review our offering, taking into consideration customer uptake and feedback. This helps us improve service efficiencies," the spokesperson of Emirates Airline said.

However, the airline said that Hindu passengers would still be able to choose from a variety of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian regionally-inspired meals.

Emirates is also providing meal options catering to a number of health and dietary requirements. 

For its vegetarian travellers, Emirates would offer a number of meal options such as Vegetarian Jain Meal, Indian Vegetarian Meal, Kosher meal and Non-Beef non-vegetarian options as well.

The airline serves Indian Vegetarian Meal (AVML) for vegetarian passengers. As per Khaleej Times, it incorporates flavours from the Indian sub-continent, and can contain all types of vegetables, fresh fruit, dried fruits, legumes, dairy products, tofu, cereal, grains and vegetarian gelatine, but it does not contain any type of meat or by-products, fish, shellfish, eggs or animal gelatine.

In addition, it also serves vegetarian Jain meal (VJML) for the Jain community who are purely vegetarian.

"Food and drink form an integral part of any Emirates flight experience and our menus are created by leading chefs to reflect the culture and preferences of Emirates' diverse customer base. We have a wide variety of special meals that can be ordered in advance to cater to our customers with medical or religious dietary requirements, including our Hindu customers," the airline said.

(With inputs from Khaleej Times)