Airlines served ‘Hindu’ and ‘Muslim food’, uproar on social media, know the whole matter

The issue of food served in Vistara Airlines seems to be gaining momentum on social media. In fact, journalist Aarti Tikku Singh recently accused Vistara of labeling all vegetarian food served while traveling as “Hindu food” and chicken food as “Muslim food” and accused the airline of communalizing food.

He asked the airline, “Who told you that all Hindus are vegetarians and all Muslims are non-vegetarians?” Tikku accused Vistara of forcing food choices on people and asked: “Are you now going to communalise the vegetables, chicken and passengers on the flight as well?”

Tikku’s post

She posted on X, writing, ‘Why are vegetarian meals on your flights called “Hindu food” and chicken meals called “Muslim food”? Who told you that all Hindus are vegetarians and all Muslims are non-vegetarians? Why are you forcing food choices on people? Who gave you the right to do this? Are you going to communalise the vegetables, chicken and passengers on the plane now? I was so shocked by this bad behaviour that I booked both the meals to disobey your order.’

Also read: Vistara Airlines’ initiative to provide sanitary pads for free to women passengers

He also appealed to the Civil Aviation Ministry to take action on this matter. Meanwhile, Tikku shared a screenshot of his ticket from Srinagar to Jammu, which shows that he had booked a “Hindu meal” and a “Muslim meal” for the short-duration flight.

People’s reaction
Several social media users pointed out to Tikku that airline food codes are not decided by Vistara but are standardised across the industry. “In general aviation parlance, Hindu food (HNML) is not necessarily vegetarian food – it can also be non-vegetarian food that is not halal,” wrote Sanjay Lazar, CEO of Avialas Consultants. “Similarly, Muslim food (MOML) is non-vegetarian food that is halal,” he explained.

Former Jet Airways CEO Sanjeev Kapoor also gave a similar response and said that these are standard international food codes that are used not only by Vistara but also by GDS-based airlines globally. However, he stressed the need to update/modernize the complex food codes.