Korean Air to stop serving hot cup noodles in some of its flights. Here is why

Hot cup noodles are a filling snack, but they can turn out to be a tangled mess on a flight going through turbulence. Now, Korean Air has decided to stop serving the beloved food item in economy class of its international flights. Korean Air used to serve cup noodles free of cost and upon request on its international routes.

The decision, announced by the South Korean carrier, followed a series of burn incidents involving hot cup noodles and an increase in cases of turbulence.

The cup noodle ban on economy class will go into effect from August 15, as per a statement from Korean Air. It said that sandwiches, pizza, and corndogs will be served in place of cup noodles on long-haul international flights.

The cup noodle is kept in a sealed bottle usually made of plastic, on which hot water is added to 'cook'. As cabin crew moves around with multiple cup noodles in economy class which is more crowded than business class, there is a higher risk of burn incidents, Korean Air noted.

Cup noodles will continue to be served to business classand first class passengers, as they are served individually with less risk of spills during turbulence, the carrier said.

Korean Air said therise in turbulence risk, as well as narrow aisles lead to frequent burn incidents, which havedoubled since 2019. "Risk of burns is greater with passengers crowded together" in economy class, it pointed out.

The move by Korean Air follows a similar step taken by Singapore Airlines to stop hot drinks and meals during turbulence. In May, a passenger from UK died and dozens more were injured when one of its planes sufferedturbulence while flying over Myanmar. The flight was subsequently diverted to Thailand.

(With inputs from agencies)