Emirates Airline sees spike in vegan meals during Veganuary

With more people than ever before signing up to January's meat-free campaign, the airline has seen requests soar for its in-flight vegan meals

Emirates reported a 40 per cent rise in vegan meal requests this January. Courtesy Emirates

For many people, a new year means a new diet and that’s especially true for everyone who signed up for this year’s Veganuary.

This year, a record 250,000 people in 193 countries joined the annual month-long campaign to try a vegan diet in January. Across the same month, Emirates Airlines saw a significant uptake in the number of plant-based meals being requested on its flights.

The Dubai-based airline reported a 40 per cent increase in vegan meal requests, data that shows that people are taking their pledge quite seriously, even when they travel. The increase means that the airline served over 20,000 vegan in-flight meals in January, and that’s with a few days of the month still to go.

Boasting over 170 plant-based recipes in rotation, the airline tries to ensure variety for vegan flyers. Each of the meals is thoughtfully constructed by a team of nutritionists and chefs.

Last month, Vegan News website polled 154 readers who had travelled on 29 different international airlines and revealed that Emirates came out on top for in-flight vegan meals.  The Dubai-based carrier got a score of 28, way ahead of second-place Singapore Airlines who scored 18.

Known for its regional culinary offerings, Emirates keeps the same ethos when it comes to vegan fare with dishes including mushroom ravioli, vegetable tagine and stir-fried tofu. And just because this is vegan food, don’t think there’s no desert - chocolate cake, key lime parfait and chia seed puddings all feature on the menus.

Since April last year, the airline has also served vegan cheese with its plant-based meals. To date, it has gone through more than 18,000 kilograms of the nut-based stuff.

As demand for vegan food continues to grow, more and more airlines around the world are adding meat-free menus. Last week, Jet2.com one of the biggest airlines in the UK was the latest to join the party when it announced its first-ever vegan menu.