I do a lot of travelling, especially internationally, which is the nature of being an American expat in the UK. Since going vegan about 5 years ago, I’ve noticed the vegan options at airports have improved immensely, but there is still some way to go – particularly at small, regional airports. I’ve learned a few tips and tricks during my travels as a vegan, and thought I would share them with you.
Order a vegan meal for the flight
If you have a long flight that offers a complimentary meal service, make sure you order a vegan meal in advance. If you have a frequent flier number (which I would advise you do for any airline you fly with), you can put it in your personal settings so that they always arrange a vegan meal for you by default.
If you want to know what type of food different airlines serve – just do a quick search of the airline and add “vegan” and you’re bound to come up with plenty of photos and reviews. One thing I found interesting is that there is often more than one vegan option, but they’re labelled differently. So for example, if you want an Indian meal you can often order the a Jain meal which does not have animal products (but it also won’t contain root veg). If you want to play it safe though, go for the strict vegan meal.
Also – once your meal arrives, double check that everything is vegan. There have been a couple times on one airline in particular (*cough*United*cough*) where the meal was vegan, but then they gave me real butter to go with the bread roll.
Have a backup meal ready
Sometimes airlines forget to put your vegan meal on the flight (it’s happened to me more than once), or don’t mark you down for a special meal. Because of this, I suggest asking when you check in to make sure they have the meal for you. I would also recommend buying a couple sandwiches for the flight to put in your bag as a backup. On my recent Virgin Atlantic flight they remembered my vegan meal but the food was terrible, so I ended up eating the Pret A Manger sandwiches I purchased at the airport which were a lifesaver!
Pack your own food
This one is pretty obvious – if you have the time and inclination, pack your own food! I admit this is one I struggle with, as my main priority is getting out the door on time with all my bags and travel documents in tow, not what I’m going to eat. That said, there have been times where I’ve been very organised and made some pre-packed lunches. I find wraps, sandwiches and even salad boxes in plastic Tupperware work well. If you fancy some porridge, bring some instant oats and ask a coffee shop for a cup of hot water (which should be available for free), or purchase a cup of non-dairy milk. Just remember not to pack any liquids like soup or salad dressings!
I also always pack snacks, because you never know when that hunger will strike and it’s a good idea to have something on hand that will last your entire trip. For me, I like to pack nuts, crackers and granola bars – anything that doesn’t need to be refrigerated.
Get creative
If you are unable to get food before your flight for some reason (eg if you have a really tight connecting flight), and there isn’t a vegan meal on the plane, ask the flight attendants if you can pick some of the vegan items off of the extra trays. They will often have bread, fruit, crisps and other snacks suitable for vegans. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than going hungry!
Check out restaurants in your terminal
I always look at the restaurants in my terminal before we fly, to see what options are available. You can usually see the menu right on the airport’s website, and also see which vegan friendly chains are around; if there’s a Yo! Sushi or Wagamama for example, I know I’ll be fine for vegan food. I do like to try new places though – so for example when I flew out of terminal 2 at Heathrow recently there was a restaurant that served vegan jackfruit burgers that were to die for!
If there are no vegan-friendly restaurants, you can always check if they have a Pret, Boots, WH Smith or M&S – all of which do an array of vegan wraps and sandwiches to go. If you are flying from continental Europe, my advice is to always bring your own food to the airport. I have been stranded in small regional airports more than once where the only thing I could eat was a bag of crisps!
One last thing – don’t bother looking at restaurants in other terminals unless you have a really long layover. It can take a long time to get from one terminal to another, so would advise against this unless you have time to kill.
What are your tips for flying as a vegan? What has been your worst experience? I’d love to hear from you – please comment below!