Man receives banana as GF airplane meal

Man receives banana as GF airplane meal

A passenger on All Nippon Airways (ANA) has been left a touch stunned after his Gluten Free meal option wasn’t what he expected.

32-year-old Martin Pavelka had ticked the gluten-free box for his meal – something he does regularly as someone who suffers from coeliac disease – and was served a single banana.

Per Evening Standard, it even came with a sticker on it labelled GF for gluten-free, along with a packet containing a knife, fork, napkin and salt.

Pavelka was served the banana on the second leg of his trip to Australia – a 9-hour flight from Tokyo to Sydney. Per the website, Pavelka had been served a more substantial meal the previous evening after the flight departed, but was a bit confused at his brekkie option.

Pavelka told Evening Standard, “As a coeliac, I always order gluten free meal on my flights. Sometimes they are bland, sometimes they are actually much better than the ordinary meal service.

“On this flight, I was left literally speechless. One single banana arrived.

“All other passengers were served full breakfast meal consisting of eggs, sausage, mushrooms, bread, and yogurt.

“This was a nine-hour flight. Although definitely gluten free, the banana did not keep me full for very long.”

“When the stewardess came to me, she said ‘we’ve got a special meal for you’ and I got the banana,” he explained.

“I asked ‘is this a joke?’ She just said ‘I’m really sorry, that’s the gluten-free meal’.”

“In my opinion, I don’t think they really get the concept of allergies and alternative meals.

“It’s so extreme. A banana, that’s good for about 15 minutes, then you’re hungry again.”

He added the other passengers were having a giggle, and even the stewardess realised something wasn’t right.

Pavelka has put in a complaint to the airline about his experience but is yet to hear back.

 

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