A recent incident involving a vegetarian passenger on Air India has sparked controversy after she received a non-vegetarian meal on a Calicut-Mumbai flight. Veera Jain, a vegetarian, took to social media to express her dissatisfaction, sharing photos of the meal labeled as “veg” but containing chicken pieces. She boarded Air India flight AI582, which was delayed by an hour.
Ms. Jain posted on X, “On my Air India flight AI582, I was served a vegetarian meal with chicken pieces in it! I boarded the flight from Calicut airport. This was a flight that was supposed to take off at 18:40 PM but left the airport at 19:40 PM.” The images clearly displayed the contradiction between the “veg meal” label and the chicken inside.
Upon informing the cabin supervisor about the issue, Ms. Jain claimed that although an apology was issued, no action was taken to inform other passengers with vegetarian meals. She also highlighted the delay, which affected her friend’s connecting train to Ahmedabad.
The social media post gained traction, with users expressing concerns about the airline’s food handling practices. Air India responded to Ms. Jain’s complaint, requesting her to delete specific details from the open tweet to avoid misuse and share the information via direct message (DM) along with her Passenger Name Record (PNR).
In the DM conversation, Ms. Jain stated that Air India apologized but emphasized the importance of realizing the impact on sentiments, comparing it to a payment mistake that is later apologized for continuously.
The incident raises questions about quality control and communication within the airline, prompting a response from Air India through direct communication channels.