Indian airline calls its vegetarian meals ‘Hindu’ and non-veg meals ‘Muslim’. Here's why

A social media post by a journalist calling out Vistara Airlines has become the new point of discussion on the internet. A journalist named Aarti Tikoo Singh asked Vistara, a Tata Sons airline service, why their in-flight vegetarian foods are labelled as “Hindu meals, and chicken meals as “Muslim meals.”

Singh accused the airline of communalising food, through her X post.

“Who told you that all Hindus are vegetarian and all Muslims are non-vegetarian?” she asked the Indian full-service carrier. Singh accused Vistara of thrusting food choices on people as she asked, “Are you now going to communalise vegetables, chicken and passengers on a flight too?”

Also Read |UP social media policy: Yogi govt to offer influencers up to ₹8 lakh per month

Hello @airvistara, why the hell is vegetarian meal called “Hindu meal” and chicken meal called “Muslim meal” on your flights? Who told you that all Hindus are vegetarian and all Muslims are non-vegetarian? Why are you thrusting food choices on people? Who authorised you to do… pic.twitter.com/46w4avU7Vs

Singh said she was so shocked by Vistara’s pathetic behaviour that she booked both meal options and took a screenshot of her ticket from Srinagar to Jammu, which shows that she booked one “Hindu meal” and one “Moslem meal” for the short duration flight.

Soon the journalist’s post was flooded with comments with some asking the same question to the airline, while others explaining why the airline might have these “communal” labels.

What’s with airline food labels?

Several social media users informed Singh in the comments that airline meals have certain codes and these codes are not decided by a particular airline (in this case Vistara) but are standardised across the industry.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) provides standardised meal codes to help airlines, catering services, and ground staff manage and communicate meal requirements efficiently and to ensure some uniformity across airlines.

“FYI in general aviation parlance, a Hindu Meal (HNML) is NOT necessarily a Veg meal - it could be a Non Veg meal that is not Halal,” wrote Sanjay Lazar, CEO of Avialaz Consultants. “Similarly a Moslem meal (MOML) is a Non Vegetarian meal that is HALAL,” he explained.

Also Read |Maharashtra: Autorickshaw driver in Ratnagiri drugs 19-year-old nursing student, rapes her

Sanjiv Kapoor, the former CEO-designate of Jet Airways and an aviation veteran also shared his views on the incident and provided a similar explanation.

These are standard international meal codes used globally across GDS-based airlines, not just by Vistara. However I do think IATA or whoever needs to update / modernize these outdated and at times somewhat puzzling meal codes. https://t.co/QLO9BlutZB

“These are standard international meal codes used globally across GDS-based airlines, not just by Vistara. However, I do think IATA or whoever needs to update/modernize these outdated and at times somewhat puzzling meal codes,” wrote Kapoor.

Meanwhile, Vistara’s website does not mention Hindu or Muslim meals. Instead, its extensive list of vegetarian options includes the “Vegetarian Vegan Meal (VGML)” which does not contain animal products, animal by-products, eggs or any dairy products, Vegetarian Jain Meal (VJML) which has no animal products, animal by-products, any root, or bulbous vegetables, and Vegetarian Lacto-ovo Meal (VLML) which may contain eggs and dairy.

(With inputs from agencies)