Emirates special meals

Emirates states on its own help pages that all of its onboard meals and snacks are halal, so there is no separate halal meal to request on an Emirates-operated flight. Dietary meals — gluten friendly, low lactose, vegetarian, vegan and Jain — are free and ordered through Manage your booking up to 48 hours before departure. Call +1-888-890-4009.

Is the food on Emirates halal? What Emirates itself says

This is the question Emirates answers most directly, and it is worth reading the airline's own sentence rather than a summary of it. In its on-board experience FAQ, Emirates writes: *"All of our onboard meals and snacks are halal."* Its dietary requirements page goes further and describes the meals as halal certified.

Two qualifications matter, and Emirates does not hide either. First, Emirates does not publish the name of the authority that certifies its catering, so if your requirement is a specific named certification rather than the airline's own assurance, that is a question to put to Emirates before you fly. Second, halal food and a dry cabin are not the same thing — Emirates serves wine, champagne and spirits as beverages on board, and the halal statement covers the food and snacks, not the drinks trolley.

The practical consequence for a Muslim traveller is simple: on an Emirates-operated flight you do not need to select a Muslim meal (MOML) to avoid pork or non-halal meat. The standard tray already meets that standard by default.

The full Emirates special meal list and IATA codes

Emirates names its meals in plain language on its website. The three-letter codes below are the standard IATA service codes those names map to inside the booking record — what your agent, the Emirates call centre and any interline partner will actually read.

Emirates' own published examples are gluten friendly, low lactose, vegetarian and vegan; the wider list is drawn from Emirates' dietary requirements page and from inflight-catering references, which are secondary sources. Quote the meal name as well as the code and nothing gets lost.

Vegetarian, vegan and Jain meals on Emirates

The three vegetarian options are not interchangeable, and choosing the wrong one is the single most common Emirates meal complaint.

The Jain meal (VJML) is the one Emirates describes in the most detail, and the detail is the point. Emirates says it is intended for members of the Jain community who are pure vegetarians, is prepared with Indian condiments, and may contain fresh fruit, vegetables that grow above ground, tofu, pulses, cereals and rice. It contains no animal products or by-products, no seafood, no eggs, no dairy — and no root vegetables, which Emirates spells out as onions, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, potatoes, carrots, radishes and turmeric.

The vegan meal (VGML) excludes all animal products but has no restriction on root vegetables or garlic. The lacto-ovo vegetarian meal (VLML) permits dairy and eggs. If you eat no meat but do eat paneer and yoghurt, VLML or AVML is your tray; VGML will arrive without them.

Medical and dietary meals: gluten, lactose, sugar and salt

Emirates' medical family is broader than most Gulf carriers publish, covering gluten, lactose, blood sugar, sodium and fat in separate trays.

One caution belongs here rather than buried at the bottom. Emirates is explicit that its gluten-intolerant meals are produced in facilities that handle a wide range of ingredients, including allergens. That makes the gluten friendly tray a dietary meal, not a certified allergen-free one — an important distinction for coeliac disease as opposed to a gluten preference. Emirates uses the phrase "gluten friendly" rather than "gluten free," and that wording is deliberate.

There is no nut-free meal on Emirates. Nuts appear on Emirates flights both as meal ingredients and as an accompaniment to drinks, and no tray removes them from the cabin.

Kosher, Hindu and other religious requests

Because every Emirates tray is already halal, the religious meal question on this airline is mostly about the requirements halal does not cover.

Kosher is the awkward one, and honesty serves you better than a confident answer. Emirates' own published examples of dietary meals — gluten friendly, low lactose, vegetarian and vegan — do not name kosher, and traveller reports conflict: some describe KSML being loaded after a phone request, others report the option is absent from the online dropdown entirely. Treat kosher on Emirates as something to confirm in writing with the airline or your agent before you fly, on your specific route, rather than assume from a website list.

The Hindu non-vegetarian meal (HNML) is exactly what its name says: an Indian-style tray that contains meat or fish and excludes beef. Hindu passengers who eat no meat at all should book AVML, not HNML — this catches people out on every airline that carries both.

For any request Emirates does not list, the honest position is that cabin crew cannot create a compliant tray in the air. Ask on the ground.

Children's meals, baby food and celebration cakes

Children have their own catering on Emirates and it sits outside the dietary meal list.

Emirates offers kids' meals for children aged between two and twelve. For infants under two it carries a range of Ella's Kitchen baby meals, which Emirates describes as all organic, with options including a veggie moussaka with lentils and sweet purees such as prunes. If your child has a specific diet, Emirates says you can choose from the dietary meals at booking or afterwards through Manage your booking — so a child can have a Jain or gluten friendly tray rather than the standard kids' meal.

If you would rather bring your own food for a baby, Emirates says cabin crew will help with food and bottle warming. On a fourteen-hour Dubai sector that is the sensible plan, not the fallback.

Emirates also sells celebration cakes, publishing the prices on its Economy and Premium Economy dining pages.

Deadlines: the 48-hour rule and the Business Class preorder window

Emirates publishes one deadline for dietary meals and a different, separate window for Business Class menu preordering. They are not the same system and mixing them up costs people their tray.

For dietary meals, Emirates' own FAQ says you can order a meal for a specific diet *up to 48 hours before your flight* through Manage your booking. Note that several third-party guides quote 24 hours instead. Where sources disagree, follow the airline's own published figure — and in practice, request the meal at the moment you book. It costs nothing and removes the argument entirely.

For meal preordering, which is a different product, Emirates offers Business Class passengers on selected flights the ability to choose their main course from the standard menu as early as 14 days and up to 24 hours before departure, at no extra charge, with the choice changeable up to 24 hours out. Emirates does not publish the route list; if the option does not appear in Manage your booking, it is not yet live on that flight.

How to order an Emirates special meal

Emirates routes almost everything through Manage your booking on emirates.com or the Emirates app. Enter your booking reference and last name, open the passenger's details for the relevant flight, and select the meal preference. The same screen holds the Business Class preorder option where it is available.

If a travel agency issued your ticket, the booking is frequently locked against passenger-side edits. Seeing the meal option greyed out is normal behaviour, not a fault, and the fix is to ask the agency to add the request into the passenger name record.

Two habits are worth building. First, re-check the request after any schedule change or rebooking — a meal code does not always follow a passenger onto a new flight number. Second, keep written confirmation, because if the tray is not loaded, the confirmation is what turns a complaint into a resolved claim.

If Airlaza issued your ticket, call +1-888-890-4009 and our desk adds the meal request with Emirates on your behalf, 24 hours a day.

Allergies: what Emirates will not guarantee

Emirates is unusually blunt here, and the bluntness is useful. Its published position is that while it does its best to create meals for customers with food allergies, *"we cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment on board our aircraft and we serve nuts and foods containing allergens on all our flights."* Emirates adds that other passengers may bring their own food on board, which means traces of allergens may be present in the cabin air or on surfaces.

Read that as a clear statement of scope. Emirates will build a tray around a dietary need. It will not clear the cabin of an allergen, will not stop serving nuts, and does not offer a nut-free meal code.

If your allergy is severe, the meaningful preparations happen on the ground: carry your own prescribed medication in the cabin, notify Emirates in advance rather than at the gate, tell the crew at boarding, and consider carrying your own sealed food as the primary plan.

Frequently asked questions

Is the food on Emirates halal?

Yes. Emirates states on its own help pages that all of its onboard meals and snacks are halal, and its dietary requirements page describes the meals as halal certified. There is no separate halal meal to book on Emirates-operated flights. Alcohol is still served as a beverage on board.

Do I need to request a Muslim meal on Emirates?

No. Because Emirates serves halal food as standard, requesting MOML adds nothing on an Emirates-operated flight. Reserve special meal requests for genuine dietary needs such as gluten friendly, low lactose, Jain or diabetic. On codeshare flights operated by another airline, the standard meal may not be halal.

How long before my flight can I order an Emirates special meal?

Emirates' own FAQ says you can order a meal for a specific diet up to 48 hours before departure through Manage your booking, using your booking reference and last name. Some third-party guides say 24 hours. Follow Emirates' published 48-hour figure, and in practice request the meal when you book.

Does Emirates charge for special meals?

No. Dietary meals, kids' meals and Ella's Kitchen baby meals are provided free of charge, as is Business Class meal preordering on the routes where it operates. The published paid extras are celebration items — Emirates lists a cake at USD 30 and a cake with a 20cl Moët at USD 43.

Does Emirates serve kosher meals?

Emirates does not name kosher among the dietary meal examples it publishes, and traveller reports conflict on whether KSML can be loaded. Because every Emirates tray is halal rather than kosher, treat this as something to confirm in writing with Emirates or your agent for your specific route before travelling.

What is the difference between AVML and VJML on Emirates?

AVML is Indian-style vegetarian and may include dairy, onion and garlic. VJML follows Jain dietary law: Emirates says it contains no animal products, seafood, eggs or dairy, and no root vegetables — specifically no onion, mushroom, ginger, garlic, potato, carrot, radish or turmeric. Choose VJML only if you need that restriction.

Can Emirates provide a nut-free meal?

No. Emirates states it cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment on board and serves nuts and foods containing allergens on all flights, partly because other passengers bring their own food. There is no nut-free meal code. Carry prescribed medication in the cabin and tell the crew at boarding.

Is the Emirates gluten friendly meal safe for coeliac disease?

Emirates deliberately calls it gluten friendly, not gluten free, and says its gluten-intolerant meals are produced in facilities handling a wide range of ingredients including allergens. For a dietary preference it works well. For diagnosed coeliac disease, treat it as a dietary meal rather than a certified allergen-free one.

Can my child have a special dietary meal on Emirates?

Yes. Emirates offers kids' meals for children aged two to twelve and Ella's Kitchen organic meals for under-twos, but says that if your child has a specific diet you can choose from the dietary meals at booking or later through Manage your booking. Crew will also warm food and bottles you bring.

What happens if my Emirates special meal is not loaded?

Tell the cabin crew before the meal service begins, not when the trolley reaches you. Crew can check the loading list and usually assemble something from what is on board. Note the flight number and date, keep your written confirmation, and raise it with Emirates afterwards.