In-flight dairy-free meals

I am writing this letter because I am seriously irritated about the in-flight service offered by Air Malta, with particular reference to the meals served. Through this letter I also hope to voice the laments of other people who have had similar experiences with our national airline.

I suffer from lactose intolerance, which means I cannot have any dairy products or derivatives. I have recently had to travel to Brussels on business, so the person in charge of such logistical arrangements at work called Air Malta to book my flight and inform them of my dietary requirement. When told about my intolerance, the person at the other end of the line replied quite cheekily: "As if we give you milk on the flight?!" (loosely translated from Maltese).

Needless to say, such a reply took us quite by surprise. We couldn't believe such arrogance and, worse still, ignorance. Milk is found in innumerable food stuffs and, intolerances and allergies are no laughing matters.

Moreover, such a reply was more an example of "customer don't care"!

When I got to the check-in at the airport, something inside me told me to confirm that the booking of a dairy-free meal had actually gone through. Alas, I was met with a blank face, head rolling from side to side indicating there was no such meal booked in fact. Luckily, I was still in time to order such a special meal - despite the steward telling me not to raise my hopes too high of actually getting such a meal! The steward recommended that I speak to the sales office just across the departures hall to ensure a dairy-free meal for my return flight. I readily took up the suggestion... it was in my interest to do so after all.

Returning from Brussels the very next day, the purser made it a point to deliver my special meal himself. I was quite surprised to hear that my meal was a vegetarian one, seeing that I had specifically asked the lady at the sales office to book me a dairy-free meal just the day before. Nonetheless, I made no fuss since this had in fact happened on previous occasions and I had so far been lucky getting some pasta with tomato sauce or salad. Not this time. Unfortunately, not only had my meal been converted to a vegetarian one but it turned out to be ricotta cannelloni - something I could definitely not eat!

I wish to publicly thank the two ladies sitting next to me who very kindly gave me their galletti, thus minimising their already measly meals.

In view of this rather unpleasant experience, I wish to ask Air Malta, or whoever is in charge of in-flight refreshments, a few simple questions: Why is it that your web page - www.airmalta.com/ request-for-special-meals - lists a number of special meals that can be pre-booked, including two dairy-free options, but then fail to deliver? Why are passengers promised something they are ultimately not given? Is there any real awareness among Air Malta staff about people's medical and dietary requirements and what the repercussions may be in case of an allergic reaction? Are Air Malta staff well equipped to deal with such allergic reactions should they occur?

I would appreciate receiving some explanations on this matter.