Airline Special Meals

What are airline special meals and how do they work? What do vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and child-friendly airline meals look like?

Special meals can be requested in advance, typically at least 24 hours before departure. To pre-order a special meal for your flight, you can usually reach out to the airline’s reservations department, or contact your travel agent.

Below you’ll find the most common special meals and meal codes used by airlines. Each meal code explains the meal type and what the meal will and won’t contain.