Paul Booker was flying from Cancun, Mexico, to London Heathrow last month (January 14) after a 10-day holiday with his friend.
The 55-year-old was towards the end of his 10-hour flight when he was served breakfast, included as part of the flight, and opted for the vegan sandwich.
However, when he was given the meal, Paul was disgusted at the standard and quality of what he was served, and claims a red-faced air hostess said it was “unacceptable”.
Shocking photos show two slices of courgette and a solitary slice of ‘rotten-looking’ pepper on bread.
Retired civil servant Paul, who has been vegan for 10 years, claims he was left hungry after being served the “pitiful” sarnie on the £600 flight, with the only alternative being a fruit salad pot.
Virgin Atlantic has apologised and said all customers, including those with specific dietary requirements “should receive food that meets our usual high standards”.
Paul, from Minehead, Somerset, said: “There was no way that was going anywhere near my mouth because it looked like it was rotten.
“I have had bad food on a flight before but not from this country but this was a joke.
“I showed it to my friend, and to be honest it was almost like shock laughter.
“The first thought was how little there was in there, it wasn’t until then we looked at it closer and we saw the state of the vegetables that were in there and [I felt] just disgust, absolute disgust.
“It is certainly up there as the worst meal I have ever had, it’s certainly the worst offering I have ever had.”
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Disgusted, Paul showed the sandwich to the air hostess, who he claims was embarrassed by it, before handing him a pot of fruit salad instead.
Paul said: “I called her [the air hostess] over and I said ‘is this all you’ve got? Have you got an alternative I can have?’ and I showed her and she was absolutely shocked by that.
“She looked at it and said, ‘that’s terrible, that’s not acceptable at all’ and to contact Virgin when I got home.
“It had this amusing writing on the box, ‘we found love in a hungry place’.
“I thought ‘there’s an irony for you’. I certainly didn’t find love there, but I was certainly in the hungry place, it was more of a kick in the teeth.
“Then in front of me, thin strips of courgette and a bit of pepper that just looks rotten.
“The problem is that when you are on a flight they only take a limited amount of food with them and then they will only take a limited amount of specialist meals with them.
“If that meal isn’t quality checked before they send it out onto the plane and you are 10,000 feet in the air then you haven’t got any other choice.”
Paul shared a picture of his sarnie on social media, branding it “pitiful” and “mouldy”.
Paul wrote: “This was the pitiful vegan offering that I got on a £600 Virgin Atlantic flight from Cancun to London today.
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“The piece of red pepper actually looks mouldy. Even the stewardess was shocked, and seemed genuinely embarrassed.
“Needless to say, I didn’t eat it!”
After lodging a complaint, Paul was offered a £100 voucher to use on Virgin Atlantic holidays and flights.
Paul said: “£100 isn’t going to go anywhere on a Virgin holiday or flight.
“I just wanted some acknowledgement from their in-flight catering team, and something properly financial would be nice.
“Something to make me feel a bit more valued.
“Their £100 voucher, not only is it not a lot of benefit to me but also doesn’t cost them anything.
“They could’ve given me £500 and it wouldn’t be a drop in the ocean to them.”
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A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “We never want to disappoint our customers, which is why it’s disheartening to hear that Mr Booker was unhappy with the meal served on his flight from Cancun to London Heathrow.
“All customers, including those with specific dietary requirements, should receive food that meets our usual high standards.
“We take complaints like this seriously and we have offered Mr Booker a £100 voucher.
“We have also shared all feedback with our catering teams to ensure standards are upheld.”
