Special Meal Codes — IATA Special Meal Codes

Overview

Airlines that offer meal service allow passengers to request an alternative to the standard meal for dietary, religious, medical, or age-related reasons. These requests are recorded in the reservation as a four-letter special meal code, so that catering suppliers, check-in staff, and cabin crew along the entire journey handle the correct meal for that passenger. The codes function similarly to other Special Service Request (SSR) entries used to flag a passenger's specific needs.

Common Example Codes

Many airlines support additional codes covering needs such as low-sodium, low-fat, gluten-free, fruit-based, or seafood meals, though the exact list of codes offered varies by carrier.

How the System Works

Special meal requests are generally made at the time of booking or afterward through the airline's website, call center, or a travel agent, and must usually be submitted a set number of hours before departure, commonly 24 to 48 hours, to give caterers time to prepare. The code is attached to the passenger's record and transmitted to the catering supplier at each station along the itinerary, so a correctly filed code should ensure the same type of meal is loaded at every leg of a connecting journey.

Limitations

Availability of special meals depends on the airline, route, and cabin class; some carriers only offer them on longer international flights, and short-haul or low-cost carriers may not offer them at all. A confirmed booking of a special meal code is not always a guarantee it will be loaded, since catering errors, aircraft swaps, or late itinerary changes can occasionally result in the standard meal being served instead. Passengers with severe allergies are generally advised not to rely solely on a meal code and to carry their own food as a precaution, since airline catering kitchens frequently cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment.