Travel
Eating Gluten-Free on the Plane and at the Airport: How to Prepare for the Journey
Special meal requests, hand luggage rules, airport options and transfers: a guide to making the hardest part of the holiday easier.
For anyone who eats gluten-free, the hardest part of a holiday is often not the hotel but getting there. Add delays, connections, a long transfer and limited choice at airports, and going hungry for hours is all too easy. With a little preparation, the journey becomes much more comfortable.
Before you fly
Order a gluten-free meal
Many airlines that serve meals offer a gluten-free option, provided you request it a certain time before the flight (usually 24–48 hours). In international booking systems this meal appears under the code GFML (gluten-free meal). Once you have your ticket, make the request through the airline’s website or call centre and get confirmation.
On flights where food is only available to buy, there is usually no special meal; in that case you will need to bring your own food.
Take food with you
Solid food can generally be carried in hand luggage. Liquid and creamy items (yoghurt, cheese spread, houmous) are subject to the liquids rules. Our suggestions:
- Gluten-free crackers, crispbreads or bread
- Nuts and dried fruit
- Gluten-free bars and biscuits
- Fresh fruit (bearing in mind the customs rules of the country you are flying to)
At the airport
At large airports, cafés and shops increasingly stock packaged gluten-free products. However, most unwrapped sandwiches and pastries sit in the same display cabinet. Choose labelled, sealed products. Save the snacks you have brought until you are on the plane, in case of delays.
On the plane
- When your gluten-free meal arrives, check the label and what is inside. If there is a separately wrapped bread roll on the tray, make sure it is gluten-free too.
- Snacks handed out by the cabin crew (crackers, cake) usually contain gluten.
- Your meal may not have been loaded onto the plane, so it is always worth having back-up food with you.
The transfer and your first day
Transfers from Antalya Airport to Alanya, or from Dalaman to Bodrum, can take an hour and a half to two hours. You will often arrive at the hotel in the middle of dinner service or after it has finished. When you book, give your arrival time and your gluten-free requirement, and ask: “Could a gluten-free plate be set aside for a late arrival?”
