Emirates Expands Vegan In-Flight Menu to Nearly 500 Dishes

In February, Virgin Atlantic hit the headlines for the wrong reasons. A passenger had ordered a vegan meal on a flight between London and Cancun and ended up being served a sandwich with three thin slices of what they described as “moldy” vegetables. Virgin Atlantic apologized and acknowledged that the sandwich wasn’t up to scratch, but for the passenger, the damage was already done.

Fortunately, experiences like this are becoming less common. Last year, for example, American Airlines added vegan eggs to its in-flight brunch menu, and Aeromexico began serving NotBurgers with NotCheese. But if you want to guarantee that you’ll get a decent plant-based meal, Emirates is also a good bet.

Emirates

The airline has shown a consistent commitment to upgrading its in-flight vegan options. In fact, it recently revealed that it now has nearly 500 vegan recipes in rotation across its 140 destinations. That’s up from just over 300 vegan recipes last year, and represents a 60 per cent increase since 2024.

According to Emirates, its chefs are currently developing new plant-forward dishes (with fewer plant-based meat alternatives) in response to rising demand from passengers.

RELATED: Vegan Eggs Land on American Airlines’ Brunch Menu

“It’s about transparency for our customers who want to know what they’re eating, as well as have confidence that it’s good for them and the planet,” said Doxis Bekris, Emirates vice president of food and beverage design. “We want to shift from substitutes to a celebration of plants, where it’s not about what’s missing—but instead what is gained in authenticity, flavor, and creativity.”

London leads demand for plant-based meals

According to Emirates, London is the most popular destination for plant-based meals. This makes sense, as research suggests nearly half of British consumers are reducing their meat intake. In fact, in 2023, data revealed that meat consumption in the UK was at its lowest level since records began.

Emirates also cited high demand from Manchester in the UK, as well as Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, Frankfurt in Germany, Singapore, Mumbai in India, and Bali in Indonesia.

Emirates

Vegan options can be ordered specially (either in advance or on board), and they’re also often offered to all customers as part of the main menu. The kind of dishes offered depends on the class, but you can rest assured they probably won’t be moldy vegetables and bread.

Examples of vegan options on the economy menu include pumpkin frittatas and spinach cannelloni. In business, passengers are offered dishes like braised mushrooms with vegetables, and in first class, customers can expect dishes like pumpkin and barley risotto and quinoa salad.

“Instead of replicating meat, we want to draw from cuisines that have always been plant-forward like Mediterranean mezze, Levantine grain salads, Asian noodle bowls, and African stews,” said Bekris. “In our view, this approach feels genuine and culturally rich.”