Food on a plane

[PeacheyPeach]

Hi all. We are flying from Manchester terminal 2 in a couple of weeks. Out flights have changed and we are no longer having the meal on the plane. ( not that it would have been that nice anyway!)
What do you normally do? We are flying a bit further than we usually do so my DC will need some sort of food!!
Planning on going for a breakfast when we first get to the airport . Shall I buy a meal deal for everyone for later on??

It depends on how long you will be in the air and how long it is likely to be between breakfast and being able to get lunch after you land.

I will say though, that the last time we flew without a meal, we had lunch then just snacks we bought to take on the plane as we were expecting to be at the hotel for dinner. Due to delays we got there at 11pm, no food, nowhere open nearby and ended up sharing a can of Pringles as we were starving!

I always make a packed lunch for us all when we go on a plane as can't rely on getting food (coeliac disease) - sandwiches, biscuits, crisps, snack bars/muesli bars, satsumas or similar. I always overprepare with snacks in case of delays. Empty water bottles and fill them up after going through security.

If I have time I would buy takeaway food to eat on the plane like a sandwich or a salad. If I’m in a rush or otherwise weighed down I’d buy food on the plane. I’ve never come across a flight with no food, there’s always something, you just have to pay for it.

I always pack a ridiculous number of snacks and start with at least a nice pressed sandwich in my bag. I’ve been stuck more than once in airports with absolutely nothing open, not even vending machines.

I don't know why but I thought you couldn't take your own food into the airport ??

Food is fine but not drinks.

Of course you can take your own food. I wouldn’t risk entire tubs of pastes like hummus, guacamole, honey… but these are perfectly acceptable in a sandwich.

Some airports might ask you to take out / show the food but you’re allowed to take it with you.

I’d do packed lunches or meal deals if you can afford them. Remember to leave any fresh fruit and veg behind when you disembark the plane, if you’re going to a country that doesn’t allow fresh produce imports.

Hate paying airport prices! I always bring food to the airport and onto the plane.

Last trip on the way out I had a quiche. On the way home, a whole Spanish omelette. In addition to sandwiches, crisps and fruit!

I also bring an empty bottle to fill up, if no water fountain then in one of the pubs!

After a visit home my mum always packs me airport/plane food.... but then the food on my airline is pretty bad and its a 9 hour flight. Sometimes sarnies quiche or even cold pizza.

I always pack a special box of treats and snacks for the flight, DH isn’t allowed to see it before the flight and always gets so excited about it, bless him. I pack sweets, crisps, little packs of olives and nuts, sometimes those fancy chorizo sticks, popcorn, just lots of nice things to graze on.

We often take sandwiches on a plane that we've brought with us from home, never been an issue. If you're not travelling too far to the airport would recommend taking food with you. We've not experienced any of the much hyped queues for baggage/security (no worse than usual anyway). But people with carry on bags only are turning up much earlier than usual, which means queues for food are worse than usual.
That said, we had breakfast at the airport and didn't need to wait very long. Still had our butties on the plane - passes the time if nothing else!

It depends on the time of the flight and how long it is but if you're likely to need lunch then I would either take sandwiches and snacks from home or get a meal deal or similar at the airport as the choice on flights is often quite limited and it's not uncommon for them to run out of some options (they're also not cheap). So long as you've not got liquids you can take food through security, just make sure you eat it before landing or check import rules of the country you're going to as some don't allow meat or fresh produce to be brought in.

If you are crossing borders there can be issues with fresh fruit and vegetables, but typically that just means you have to eat them and dispose before landing.

We've got an afternoon flight in a few weeks just me and DH. Leaving here about 11ish and won't get to accommodation until late late. We'll grab lunch in the airport and I'll take rolls and coldmeat/crisps etc for 'dinner' on the plane.

Just be careful if you have any food leftover at the other end that can't be taken into the country or have to be declared. ie Meats/ fruit/ dairy etc.

My husband was grumbling when I marked that we had food on our customs form entering the caribbean. We went to the declare channel as we had some cereal and baby formula, etc for our young children, which were OK to take but had to be declared.

We had forgotten a couple of satsumas in our bag, but we didn't get in any trouble as we had gone to the red declare channel and openly admitted what we had. They were happy for us to bin the satsumas, as they weren't allowed.

We were one of only 2 families from our flight that declared food and got through customs almost immediately. The other hundreds of people on the flight had to queue for a long time as they had gone in the green channel and most were apparently found to have food on them despite declaring otherwise! My husband trusts my judgement on this now.

Oh take food. I normally buy a pret or similar.

I take brunch bars, a tube of pringles and I freeze sausage rolls and take them. By the time we eat them 3-4 hours later, they are fine.

Flew from T2 last week. There’s pretty limited options there now -
eg no boots so your options are Smiths or Pret for a meal deal type offer. There are some sit down places but the queues for them were huge. It’s a really busy terminal with not much there. We took sandwiches and snacks from home, and topped up a bit with stuff at pret and smiths. There’s water fountains by all the toilets to refill your own water bottles

It really depends on the kids, isn't it? If they are no fuss, happy to eat anything, then you don't need to plan anything. You just buy or whatever. But if they are fussy, you need a bit more planning like take some food with you.

For me, I have to plan it for every detail, since my dc is allergic to most of food like wheat/eggs/dairy. But if I plan it right, it's not a big deal, even for a 12+ hours flight.

As long as the food isn’t liquid or gel you can take your own.

The only rules about what you can take through airport security are the 100ml liquids rule. No prohibition on taking food. Personally we always buy sandwiches at Pret or similar at the airport to eat on the plane, and bring from home whatever fruit is left in the fruit bowel before we leave - better than it going in the bin, mouldy, on our return. Though beware of the exploded banana at the bottom of you bag....

Breakfast burritos and brioche rolls are good for breakfasts, and I always take loads of satsumas - not sure why I think of them as plane fruit!

Beware with nuts that you might not be allowed those on the plane due to allergies.

Try and take whatever you're taking in foldable/disposable packaging so that you're not left with big empty containers at the end (unless you want to fill them up again for the way home, obvs!)

If you can afford, I'd buy a sandwich/meal deal - your holiday has already started and nice to treat yourselves. If not, then I'd take sandwiches/wraps made up night before and one or two snacks.

I'd buy, or make something because traveling is so precarious at the moment. Somewhat off topic though, I used to love flying in the eighties and nineties because it seemed such an occasion! There was always something to look forward to on the flight; films, meals, duty free , it's just like catching a bus now😞

I usually end up spending more in Pret than I have on the flight.