Gluten-free passenger served single banana for nine-hour flight

A passenger on a nine-hour flight to Sydney was served a single banana as a gluten-free meal alternative.

Martin Pavelka ordered a gluten-free breakfast during the second leg of his All Nippon Airways flight from Tokyo to Sydney on April 20 as he suffers from the digestive condition, coeliac disease.

The 32-year-old, from London, said he was left "speechless" when he received a lonely banana with a 'GF' sticker on it, along with three seemingly redundant additions - cutlery, a napkin and a packet of salt.

"When the stewardess came to me, she said ‘we’ve got a special meal for you’ and I got the banana," Mr Pavelka told the Standard.

He said some of his fellow passengers sniggered as they were handed a full breakfast, including a serve of eggs, sausage, mushrooms, bread, and yogurt.

Mr Pavelka acknowledged his dietary requirements were satisfied, but he expected more after spending $2066 on the flight.

"This was a nine-hour flight. Although definitely gluten free, the banana did not keep me full for very long.

 "At the price I paid, you would expect something more than that."

The auditor has made a complaint to the airline but has not received a response.