A journalist, Aarti Tikoo Singh, sparked a controversy on social media after accusing Vistara airline of communalising food choices. She criticized the airline for labelling meals as ‘Hindu Meal’ and ‘Muslim Meal’ on their flights. Singh questioned the airline’s logic, asking why vegetarian meals were labelled ‘Hindu’ and chicken meals ‘Muslim’, implying all Hindus are vegetarian and all Muslims are non-vegetarian. She demanded an explanation for the practice, questioning who authorized such labelling and expressing concern about the potential for communalising other aspects of the flight experience.
Tikoo’s post quickly went viral, drawing widespread condemnation and raising concerns about religious stereotypes and discrimination. Several users on social media platforms, including former R&AW head Vikram Sood, expressed their disapproval and called for the practice to be stopped immediately.
However, an airline veteran, Sanjay Lazar, clarified that the meal codes used by Vistara are standard industry practices. He explained that ‘Hindu Meal’ (HNML) does not necessarily mean a vegetarian meal but refers to a non-halal non-vegetarian meal, while ‘Moslem Meal’ (MOML) indicates a halal non-vegetarian option. Lazar further elaborated that a ‘Vegetarian meal’ (AVML, VGML, VLML, VOML) represents a purely vegetarian meal, emphasizing that Vistara has used the correct codes.
Sanjiv Kapoor, a former CEO-designate of Jet Airways, corroborated Lazar’s statement, adding that these codes are used by airlines globally through systems like Amadeus for standardization and seamless meal service across connecting flights. He clarified that low-cost carriers, who do not utilize these systems, may use different codes. Kapoor’s explanation aimed to shed light on the industry practice and alleviate concerns about discriminatory labelling.
