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Guide to Airlines Offering Vegan and Vegetarian Options

A vegan flight meal

Vegan and Vegetarian In-Flight Meal Options

As veganism and vegetarianism grow and become more common, it is important that airlines cater for the growing demand for vegan and vegetarian options. While many short-haul flights offer “buy onboard” options (with very limited vegetarian and vegan options), longer flights offer a wide range of dietary options, known as special menus, which are available to order before flying. Vegan and vegetarian travellers need to ensure before they book that they are able to order vegetarian and vegan-friendly meals, or are able to at least bring vegetarian or vegan snacks onto the plane with them to eat during the journey. You can carry most meals through security lines, and can also bring sauces and salad dressings as long as they meet TSA liquid guidelines. When travelling to and from Australia, there are restrictions to what you can bring into the country, so make sure to check this information to stay out of trouble.

Want to request a different special meal? Visit our HalalKosherLow-Calorie or Gluten-Free meal pages. You can also find out how to request a special meal here.

Airline Meal Descriptive Terms - Vegan and Vegetarian

It is really important to make sure that the correct IATA airline meal code is used. The following are the most commonly used codes for vegan and vegetarian meal options:

VGML - Vegetarian Vegan Meal

Also known as a vegan or strict vegetarian meal, this meal is completely free of animal products or by-products. It does not contain any meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products or by-products.

VLML - Vegetarian Lacto-Ovo Meal

A vegetarian meal that will not contain any type of fish or meat, but may contain eggs and dairy products.

VOML - Vegetarian Oriental Meal

A vegetarian meal (usually also vegan) prepared in a Chinese or Oriental style.

AVML - Asian Vegetarian Meal

A vegetarian meal that will not include any type of meat, fish, or eggs, but may contain dairy products. This plane food option is usually aromatic, spicy and includes flavours from the Indian sub-continent.

VJML - Vegetarian Jain Meal

A vegetarian meal prepared with vegetables and fruit that grow above the ground. The Vegetarian Jain meal is prepared in accordance to the Jain community rules, and will not contain any animal products and by-products, or any root vegetables, including onions, garlic and ginger.

RVML - Raw Vegetable Meal

A vegetarian (and vegan) meal that consists of exclusively raw vegetables and salads.

FML - Fruit Platter

This is a plate of seasonal fresh fruit. It’s usually ordered for dietary reasons or by members of certain communities who eat only fruit while fasting.

Vegan meal

How to order a vegan meal on a plane

It’s important to ensure that you are flying with an airline that offers vegan options - make sure to check our handy options table below to see which airlines offer which options. Make sure to check how close to departure time you will be able to order your vegan meal - some airlines you will need to order at time of booking, whereas others you will be able to order vegan options up to 24 hours in advance of departure time.

Airlines offering vegan and vegetarian food options:

Here is an overview of the vegan and vegetarian friendly food options offered by airlines. This list will be updated as and when new options are introduced, to ensure that all of our customers needs are met.

Vegetarian meal:

Aegean, Aeroflot, Air Baltic, Air Canada, Air Italy, Air Serbia, Air Transat, Aircalin, Alitalia, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Avianca, Azul, Caribbean Airlines, China Airlines, China Southern, Condor Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Emirates, Etihad, Finnair, Garuda Indonesia, Hawaiian, Iberia, Icelandair, Indigo, Jet Airways, Jetairfly, KLM, La Compagnie, LEVEL, Lufthansa, Middle East Airlines (MEA), Royal Jordanian, Silk Air, Spicejet, Sri Lankan Airlines, TAP Portugal, Tarom Airlines.

Vegetarian-vegan meal:

Aeromexico, Air Astana, Air Baltic, Air China, Air New Zealand, American Airlines, Cathay Dragon (Dragonair), Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, China Eastern, Croatia Airlines, Delta Airlines, EL AL, Eva Air, Hainan, Hong Kong Airlines, Jet Airways, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Pakistan International Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Ryanair, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Sri Lankan Airlines.

Vegan meal:

Adria, Aer Lingus, Air Baltic, Air France, Air India, Air Tahiti Nui, Alitalia, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Asiana, Bangkok Airways, British Airways, Caribbean Airlines, Condor Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Gulf Air, Jetstar, KLM, Qantas, Shenzhen Airlines, Swiss International Airlines.

Vegetarian lacto-ovo meal:

Adria, Aegean, Aer Lingus, Aeromexico, Air Astana, Air Canada, Air China, Air France, Air India, Air New Zealand, Air Serbia, Air Tahiti Nui, Air Transat, Aircalin, American Airlines, Asiana, Avianca, Bangkok Airways, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Cathay Dragon (Dragonair), Cathay Pacific, China Eastern, China Southern, Delta Airlines, Egyptair, EL AL, Etihad, Eva Air, Finnair, Garuda Indonesia, Gulf Air, Hainan, Jet Airways, KLM, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Pakistan International Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, SAS, Silk Air, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Swiss International Airlines, TAP Portugal, Tarom Airlines.

Vegetarian oriental meal:

Air Astana, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, Air Serbia, Asiana, Avianca, Bangkok Airways, Brussels Airlines, Cathay Dragon (Dragonair), Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Etihad, Eva Air, Garuda Indonesia, Hainan, Hong Kong Airlines, Iberia, Jet Airways, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Philippine Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Silk Air, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Tarom Airlines.

Asian vegetarian meal (Hindu):

Adria, Aeroflot, Aerolineas Argentinas, Air Astana, Air Canada, Air France, Air India, Air Serbia, Air Tahiti Nui, Air Transat, Alitalia, All Nippon Airways (ANA), American Airlines, Asiana, Austrian Airlines, Avianca, Bangkok Airways, British Airways, Cathay Dragon (Dragonair), China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Croatia Airlines, Delta Airlines, EL AL, Emirates, Etihad, Eva Air, Finnair, Garuda Indonesia, Gulf Air, Hong Kong Airlines, Iberia, Jet Airways, Korean Air, LEVEL, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Middle East Airlines (MEA), Philippine Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, Silk Air, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Sri Lankan Airlines, Swiss International Airlines, TAP Portugal, Tarom Airlines.

Vegetarian Jain meal:

Air Astana, Air China, Air New Zealand, Air Serbia, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Asiana, Avianca, Bangkok Airways, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Cathay Dragon (Dragonair), Cathay Pacific, China Eastern, China Southern, EL AL, Emirates, Etihad, Eva Air, Gulf Air, Hong Kong Airlines, Iberia, Jet Airways, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Silk Air, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spicejet, Sri Lankan Airlines, Swiss International Airlines.

Raw vegetable meal:

Adria, Air Astana, Air China, Air India, Air Serbia, Air Tahiti Nui, Asiana, Avianca, Bangkok Airways, Brussels Airlines, Cathay Dragon (Dragonair), Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Croatia Airlines, Emirates, Etihad, Eva Air, Finnair, Garuda Indonesia, Gulf Air, Hainan, Hong Kong Airlines, Iberia, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Pakistan International Airlines, Qatar Airways, Silk Air, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Tarom Airlines.

Fruit platter:

Adria, Aegean, Aeroflot, Aerolineas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Air Astana, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, Air Serbia, Air Tahiti Nui, Asiana, Avianca, Bangkok Airways, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Cathay Dragon (Dragonair), Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EL AL, Emirates, Etihad, Eva Air, Finnair, Garuda Indonesia, Gulf Air, Hong Kong Airlines, Iberia, Jet Airways, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Middle East Airlines (MEA), Oman Air, Pakistan International Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Shenzhen Airlines, Silk Air, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, TAP Portugal, Tarom Airlines.

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