Many companies make adjustments and offer substitutes when someone has a food intolerance or food allergy.
Imagine the surprise, and even disappointment, when one passenger who requested a gluten-free breakfast received a banana.
Martin Pavelka said he requested a gluten-free breakfast on his All Nippon Airways flight from Tokyo to Sydney because he suffers from celiac disease, the Telegraph reported.
The banana had a sticker on it labeling it GF for gluten free. It was also served with a cutlery packet, including salt and pepper.
"This was a nine-hour flight. Although definitely gluten-free, the banana did not keep me full for very long," Pavelka told the Telegraph.
He said that while he was given the lone banana for breakfast, the other people on the flight were enjoying sausage, eggs, and yogurt, the Telegraph reported.
Pavelka said he complained to the flight attendants, who he thinks realized something was wrong with his breakfast offering. He also said other passengers were laughing while he complained.
All Nippon Airways said that it is reviewing its gluten-free options and how they are served. It also offered an apology to Pavelka.
But airline officials told the Evening Standard that food is served twice, one was a standard meal served an hour after takeoff, the second a snack two hours before landing.
"We make every effort to meet our passengers' needs and in this situation felt we accommodated our guest's additional food requests inflight by providing an additional regular meal as well as an entree from the regular menu for his snack," the Evening Standard reported.
Credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi
Credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi
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