A passenger requested a vegan menu on the plane during a trip with the Dutch company KLM. At first she was refused, but after a few hours she was served a tray of products that simply took her by surprise. Despite the fact that the staff behaved exemplary, the tourist accused frivolity when it came to designing the menu.
A tourist asked for a vegan menu on the plane
We all know that the food served on the plane is not exactly the best in the world. However, what happened to one passenger when she asked for a vegan menu exceeded her imagination. The incident took place on April 19, this year, when Juanita Headley, a lawyer and writer, was flying from Ghana to Amsterdam with the Dutch company KLM.
The passenger has been following a vegan diet for over a decade. More precisely, for 13 years, according to his statements. Juanita Headley made the decision to change her diet when she found out she was allergic to a number of animal foods, including eggs.
As a rule, the passenger used to take her own food when traveling long distances, according to her. However, on April 19, he did not have enough time to prepare for the flight, so he chose to order a vegan menu from the KLM plane he was traveling on.
In the first phase, Juanita Headley was refused, the staff explaining that they no longer had a vegan menu. After a few hours, he was brought an appetizer and a main course. As an appetizer, the passenger received four pieces of tangerine, four pieces of pineapple and some dried fruit. A banana, six pieces of pineapple and some nuts formed the vegan “main menu” served by representatives of the Dutch company KLM.
“The employees were very attentive to me and made me feel very comfortable, but the makeshift food just seemed like a joke to me,” Juanita Headley told foreign journalists.
How KLM representatives justify the situation
In the given situation, the management of KLM decided to offer some explanations regarding the incident on the plane traveling from Ghana to Amsterdam. The company’s representatives stated, among other things, that they guarantee vegan meals if passengers submit a request in this regard at least 24 hours before the flight.
“In today’s times, when veganism is not a new phenomenon, it is unacceptable that a six-hour long-haul flight does not have a few extra meals for such situations. Or, at least it could have been considered that the vegetarian food is also vegan, which would have been very easy for both the crew and the passengers,” KLM airline representatives said in a statement to Insider.
In another intervention for the same source, an employee of the Dutch company explained that the situation reported by the passenger was an unforeseen one, which is why she could be served a real vegan menu.
“Due to an unforeseen situation, vegan food was not available for this passenger during the flight. We are sorry that this happened and want to offer our sincerest apologies,” he said.
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According to foreign media, the situation in question is not a singular one, in recent years several passengers who traveled with KLM have reported irregularities. Most took photos of the food served to them by staff and spoke publicly about the company’s measures on social media.
