Flight Delay Leads to Gluten-Free Meal Chaos for Family

Not a fun experience, my sympathies.  FYI I've done over 30 short trips with medical missions to various destinations.  Finding gluten-free food in such countries as India & Bangladesh was surprisingly easy.  Latin America is the home of corn tortillas, lots of naturally gluten-free food.  Even Ethiopia was good - they do have Italian cuisine/restaurants which the hospital served to us, but their usual hospital food was based on teff, naturally gluten-free.  And I got favorable comment from the Ethiopian staff - look, Dr. H loves our food!  BUT never trust airports, for food or delays.  Save enough gluten-free food such as Kind bars for the journey home.  

The airport didn't have salads? That's really difficult to believe. I'm having a hard time feeling sympathy over them having to spend 70 pounds given that they're wealthy enough to take a ski trip in the posh Italian Alps. Stories like this do more damage than good for the celiac community.

You might have missed the part about "The problem was that they family had to wait in line for about 20 minutes, and most of the choices were gone by the time they got to the front." In any case, stories like this will hopefully encourage other celiac travelers to pack extra gluten-free food on any plane trip, just in case things don't go as planned, so how would this do "damage" to the celiac community? Additionally, but not very likely, airport restaurant owners might read stories like this and do a better job by offering more gluten-free options, and not running out of them.

This is precisely why I do not travel.  Society as a large has remained "attitude intolerant". Even if one selects a salad, what is in the lettuce? Was it tossed by hand by someone who just placed wheat bread in the toaster?  Does it contain gluten cross-reactors? Do the salad dressing choices contain preservatives or other noxious ingredients? I've purveyed the gluten-free fast food items at the airport shops, and many contain maltodextrin which injures gut lining.  Some contain peanuts which are an allergen to many people.  Eating out typically means "doing without".  The response from restaurants is no problem making your dish gluten free.  "All the chef has to do is leave off the seasoned rice & the pasta & the mashed potatoes since they contain wheat and yeast." And then there's the "no substitutions" note on the menu. Oh, by the way, you can ask for bread, but it cannot be toasted since the machine is also used to brown wheat toast. 

Anyone with celiac (or responsible for someone with celiac) should always pack sufficient food for their own personal consumption so they don't need to mess with airport (or airplane) food. A smaller plane, flying into/out of smaller airports, or longer flights would all be reason to pack even more safe food to bring on the trip. (On a flight to Ecuador I had so many wraps, snacks, & fruit that I could have set up my own gluten-free stand.)

However, it is fair to assume a 12-hour+ delay would exceed a normal packed food supply for an otherwise short trip. If that happens at a small airport a celiac will just have to get by with whatever fresh or gluten-free packaged food can be found, like fruit, Kind bars, yogurt, heck even potato chips. Or you might hop in a cab to do a quick food store run to get said items.

And regarding the article itself- celiacs spend more on food than non-celiacs. Always. My grocery store gluten-free aisle is significantly more than the same non-gluten-free versions of things. In that regard this article is sensationalizing one specific painfully expensive experience, but I bet over a year this will be only a modest portion of the additional money spent. 

I've brought gluten-free foods to the airport.  Security dumped the items into the trash bin.  Perhaps this has changed. I am expressing frustration at have what seems to be intolerance to "gazillion" gluten cross-reactors and the associated ensuing diarrhea.  

I have never had anyone at an airport throw out my food (they have re-inspected it, i just explain that's it my food because I have food allergies).  I've travelled all over the US, Canada, Latin America and Caribbean with my celiac and lunch bag.  And I take a LOT of food.  Like enough for 24-36 hours.  Here's what I plan for:

• in case my flight gets delayed or cancelled
• if the place i'm going to is not acceptable for me to cook right away
• I can't get to a grocery store right away
• in case i'm just too tired after travelling to deal with groceries/cooking  

I take nearly all of the following every time:

• medium container - large and hearty salad - kale and apple with nuts and craisins,
  • or broccoli salad with mayo, bacon, nuts, craisins (enough for 2 meals)
• medium container - something on rice - chicken, or pork, or veg stir fry (enough for 2 meals)
  • OR - a takeaway from my favourite Thai restaurant. 
• small container cheese and ham and crackers
• small container sliced veggies - carrot, cucumber, grape tomatoes,
• small container sliced apples and grapes
• baggie nuts/dried fruit
• some wrapped sandwiches - usually sautéed greens on a toasted gluten-free bun with cream cheese.
• 2-3 Lara bars
• a zipper bag that contains some paper towels, a small bag for garbage and 2-3 plastic forks.  

This will last me for days and fits all into a 6 pack sized soft sided cooler and none of these can't handle 24-36 hours outside of a fridge. I also find I can usually get a banana, yogurt and some gluten-free chips at an airport in a pinch - a juice also helps when you're starving.  I never, ever, even try, to assume that there will be food I can eat on board.  And I pack this same thing as above going home - or on to the next place.  

There's no doubt that this takes time but you really do have to plan it all when you have Celiac.  Most people on the plane are jealous of my food!! 

Jetblues gluten-free meal in business class had one gluten-free item, one vegan item, and one kosher item. Even the energy bar contained wheat!  I also carry ample food when possible. 
many of the items you listed are not gluten-free, eg bacon, soft cheeses and many types of chips.  

Emirates (2 long flights to India from California) had excellent gluten-free meals, but I still had a stash of Kind bars for return, just in case.   Lufthansa had a single dinner meal that was correctly gluten-free and also low sodium and vegan and something else that I forget, and was unsurprisingly taste-free as well.  The problem was that in the morning they tried to serve me a wheat roll, said that they "didn't do specially gluten-free type meals for breakfasts."   I semi-politely told the flight attendant that unfortunately I still specially had celiac disease in the mornings too.  Several passengers near me applauded.  Good old Kind bars proved their worth.  US airlines are hit and miss.  Air France served me a gluten-free mushroom risotto that could be served in a very good restaurant. . . they were forgiven all the other travelers' indignities.  Aer Lingus to Ireland is excellent for gluten-free travel!

35 minutes ago, Guest Traveller said:

Jetblues gluten-free meal in business class had one gluten-free item, one vegan item, and one kosher item. Even the energy bar contained wheat!  I also carry ample food when possible. 
many of the items you listed are not gluten-free, eg bacon, soft cheeses and many types of chips.  

All of the items i've listed are gluten free - I choose the gluten free versions.  

10 hours ago, Distressed said:

I've brought gluten-free foods to the airport.  Security dumped the items into the trash bin.  Perhaps this has changed. I am expressing frustration at have what seems to be intolerance to "gazillion" gluten cross-reactors and the associated ensuing diarrhea.  

 

One time security threw away a jar of peanut butter that I had in my carry on. Now I carry a note from my doctor that explains I have to have certain foods for medical reasons. I’ve never actually had to use it, go figure, but I always have it with me just in case. 

On 2/1/2022 at 9:23 AM, Guest Jared in NC said:

The airport didn't have salads? That's really difficult to believe. I'm having a hard time feeling sympathy over them having to spend 70 pounds given that they're wealthy enough to take a ski trip in the posh Italian Alps. Stories like this do more damage than good for the celiac community.

One thing that I really appreciate about the celiac community is the fact that even though our stories and situations (economic or otherwise) are diverse, we can still relate to the stories of the food challenges that we all face. I honestly feel bad for the family. Not being able to find food is one of my biggest concerns about traveling.

I feel like that there may be some, rather personal, information involved that we as readers don't have. For example, in addition to celiac, I also have intolerances to dairy products, some varieties of lettuce, and certain raw vegetables. So, if I am to eat a salad I need to know:

1) What vegetables are in the salad?

2) What is the potential for cross contamination?

3) Are there any croutons, noodles, granola, etc?

4) Is there a dressing? If so, what is in the dressing?

5) Are there any dairy products in the salad?

6) Are the salads pre-made, or are they safely customizable? 

I miss the days where I didn't have to worry about what I was eating.