Which airlines offer lactose-free meals?

Check which airlines offer lactose-free meals and find out how far in advance to order your dairy free airline food. Flying as a vegan or vegetarian? Please visit our vegan and vegetarian airline food page. For a list of airlines offering halal meals and kosher meals, please visit our Halal and Kosher meals pages.

• Adria Airways: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 48
• Aegean Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Aer Lingus: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 48
• Aeroflot: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 36
• Aerolineas Argentinas: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 72
• Air Baltic: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - No
• Air Canada: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 18
• Air India: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 48
• Air New Zealand: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Air Serbia: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Air Tahiti Nui: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 48
• Air Transat: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 72
• Aircalin: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Alitalia: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• All Nippon Airways: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 96
• American Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Asiana Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Austrian Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Avianca: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Azul Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 48
• Bangkok Airways: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• British Airways: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Brussels Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Caribbean Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 48
• Cathay Dragon: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Cathay Pacific: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• China Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• China Southern: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Condor Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Copa Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Delta Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Emirates: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Etihad: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Eva Air: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Finnair: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Garuda Indonesia: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Gulf Air: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Hawaiian Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 48
• Hong Kong Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Iberia: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Icelandair: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 48
• Jet Airways: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Jetairfly: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 72
• Jetstar: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - No
• KLM: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 48
• La Compagnie: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 51
• Lufthansa: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Malaysia Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Oman Air: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Pakistan International Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Philippine Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 48
• Qantas: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Qatar Airways: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• SAS Scandinavian Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 18
• Silk Air: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• South African Airways: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 48
• Swiss International Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• TAP Portugal: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Tarom Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - Not specified
• Turkish Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• United Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Vietnam Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Virgin Atlantic: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• Virgin Australia: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 48
• WOW Air: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 48
• Xiamen Airlines: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 24
• XL Airways: Minimum hours before flight for preorder - 96

Dairy Free Airline Meal Code

The airline code for a dairy free airline meal is NLML (Low Lactose Meal).

Travelling with lactose intolerance

During your flight

Bring your own milk

Although some airlines will be able to provide you with non-lactose milk along with your dairy-free meal, you might want to bring your own milk onto the flight just in case. You'll be able to bring any liquids that are under the 100ml in your carry-on baggage or — if there is a good choice of shops at the airport — you can purchase it after security.

If you're travelling with a baby that is lactose intolerant, you can bring extra non-dairy milk on the flight to feed them. However, you'll need to screen this separately and they'll likely test with a test strip.

Bring food from home

Unfortunately, not every airline offers non-dairy food options. If you're flying on a short-haul flight, menus are much more limited than on long-haul flights. Luckily, there aren't as many restrictions on flying with food as there are with flying with liquids. This means you can bring your own food onto the flight and not have to worry about a lack of option.

Make Note of the Airport Toilets

It might be useful to make a note of where the airport toilets are in case something unexpected makes you ill. Find a map of the airport as soon as you get there or look on the airport's website beforehand.

During your travels

Lactose Intolerance Pills

Although they aren't always 100% effective, by taking a lactose intolerance pill, you'll be able to consume up to the equivalent of one cup of milk (give or take) without any problems. Lactose intolerance pills give you a bit of leeway and are a great option if you're travelling and don't want to constantly worry about whether the food you've just consumed contains any traces of lactose.

Build Up Your Tolerance Pre-Travel

In the weeks leading up to your flight, train your body to handle small amounts lactose by drinking small amounts of milk before you travel. This will make a reaction less likely if you accidentally consume small amounts of lactose when you're travelling. However, every persons tolerance to lactose differs, so it's important to speak to your doctor before doing this.