From today, Muslim passengers will have to book halal food on Air India flights

Published: 17 November 2024

Non-vegetarian meals (chicken and mutton) supplied on its flights will no longer
be halal-certified except through booking

NT Bureau
Doha

Air India has announced that from today, November 17, the non-vegetarian meals (chicken and mutton) supplied on its flights will no longer be halal-certified.

Muslim passengers who need halal food will have to pre-book them while booking the ticket, and this will be certified Halal, the airline said in press release and also in a communication to travel agents.

The decision is seen as a major shift in the airline’s meal service policies, aimed at addressing the dietary preferences of its diverse passenger base.

The decision will especially affect Muslim passengers on the Gulf sector, including those travelling to and from Doha, who were until now given halal-certified food by Air India. At the same time, all meals in the Saudi sector will be Halal.

In a press release, Air India said: “MOML (Muslim Meal): Prebooked meal labelled with ‘MOML’ sticker is to be treated as a special meal (SPML). Halal Certificate will be provided only for the uplifted MOML meal. All meals in the Saudi Sec-tors will be Halal and a Halal Certificate will be provided in Jeddah, Dammam, Riyadh, and Medinah sectors, including Haj flights.”

The decision comes after the merger of Vistara with Air India.

The decision also means that Air India will no longer provide halal-certified non-vegetarian meals for passengers of other faiths, since halal-certified meals will have to be booked in advance.
Air India is operating services from Doha to Kochi, Mumbai and New Delhi.