Mid-air Onam Sadya? Airlines to serve special meals on flights from the UAE

Dubai: Craving a taste of home this Onam? Airlines are bringing the festive flavours of Kerala to the skies, especially as a treat for those who are travelling during the harvest festival.

Air India Express announced recently that it is offering a special Onam Sadya meal on its international flights from the UAE to Kerala and Mangaluru between August 24 and September 6.

The airline said passengers can pre-book this festive meal, which is part of the airline’s 'Gourmair' menu, up to 18 hours before their flight.

The special meal, priced at Dh25, is a traditional feast served in custom packaging designed to look like a banana leaf.

The Onam meal comes in a beautifully designed box inspired by the 'Kasavu,' Kerala’s traditional gold-bordered textile. The menu includes classic sadya dishes: steamed matta rice, nei parippu (lentil curry), mixed vegetable thoran (stir-fried vegetables), erissery (pumpkin and lentil stew), avial (mixed vegetable curry), kootu Curry (black chickpeas and yam curry), and sambhar (vegetable stew).

The sadya will also feature injipuli (ginger tamarind pickle), mango pickle, banana chips, shakara varatti (sweet banana chips), and payasam (rice pudding dessert).

Air India Express operates approximately 525 weekly flights connecting major UAE cities, including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaimah. The airline’s extensive network also includes flights from Mangaluru, making it easier for thousands of people to travel home for the festivities.

In a nod to Kerala’s heritage, one of the airline’s new Boeing aircraft, VT-BXM, features a tail art inspired by the traditional Kasavu design.

This is not the first time airlines have served Onam sadya on board an aircraft. Last year and the year before, Dubai’s flagship carrier Emirates served the meal on flights to and from Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai. Authentic Onam dishes were served across all cabin classes until mid-September as part of the celebration of the Onam festival.

“Onboard the 14 times weekly Emirates flight to Kochi, and the 7 times weekly Emirates flight to Thiruvananthapuram, curated menus with the distinctive flavours of Onam will be offered, giving travellers a taste of home,” an airline spokesperson said last year.

The airline has not yet made any announcements about plans to serve the sadya for Onam this year.