Flying Air India? You may get a dead fly as a garnish in your aircraft meals

A passenger was stumped to find a dead fly in her salad bowl aboard a recent Washington-Delhi Air India flight.

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When Maryland resident Femina Amoo boarded her long-haul Washington-Delhi Air India flight on Sunday, July 21, she was planning to catch up on some sleep and watch movies on her 15-hour flight to India. But AI 104 had some horror in store for her instead.

As soon as the passengers began settling down and the crew announced meal time, Amoo unwrapped her meal package only to find a dead fly in her salad bowl. Disgusted she called upon the crew and while they were apologetic about the fly in her food and were happy to replace it, the sheer neglect of finding a dead housefly in ones’ food is hardly something that can pass off as a mistake.

Needless to add, that Amoo, who is the wife of the American Bazaar’s publisher, was now no longer in a mood to trust any other meal served in the aircraft. She took a picture of the meal, politely passed on the information to the crew and left it to them to figure out how a fly found its way to the airline food.

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Amoo, who was traveling with her 11-year-old daughter, said the quality of food on board was really bad. “The only good thing water,” she said by phone from India. “The aircraft was poorly maintained. The armrest of my daughter’s seat was torn apart and I was worried about injuries throughout the flight.”

She said some of her fellow passengers also complained about bugs. “A gentleman found a bug inside the in-flight entertainment remote control holder and a crew member handed over bug repellent spray during the flight,” she said.

However, Amoo, who took a connecting flight to Kochi from Delhi, said the onward domestic flight experience was excellent. “The food was also good,” she said.

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The American Bazaar contacted Air India for a comment. An airline customer care official from Chennai responded requesting more details for sharing “accurate information.” She also sincerely apologized “for the inconvenience.”

It may be noted that this is not the first time that Air India has come under the scanner for its less than sanitary conditions in the airline food.

Back in 2015, there were reports that a baby lizard was found in the Air India meal tray on the London to Delhi sector. The image of a lizard on the meal tray was widely shared on social media. However, the airline had denied the claims and said that no complaints were made by any passenger either in Delhi or in London.

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The latest fly in the food can be a serious embarrassment for the airline and as the complaint to the crew was promptly made by the passenger while on board, it is unlikely for Air India to be able to deny the claims.

While airline foods around the world are notorious for being left out for too long, finding bugs in the food is another matter altogether. In the recent past, many frequent travelers from the US have been disenchanted by the lax service of the crew and deteriorating quality of the meals served on board.

Air India launched its Delhi to Washington Dulles flights in 2017 and the sector remains hugely popular amongst expats traveling to India. The flight covers a distance of 7,500 miles and during the 15 odd hours of flight time, passengers have in the past complained about in-flight entertainment and cleanliness. The latest fly in the food incident once again outs a big question mark on the standards of Air India.