The idea of both the pilot and co-pilot of a plane becoming incapacitated mid-flight is a nightmare scenario straight out of a movie—but it’s actually happened before. In August 1982, a plane traveling from Lisbon to Boston turned into a real-life crisis when 8 out of 10 crew members on the flight ate what is believed to have been tainted tapioca pudding and suffered sudden cramps and stomach pain. According to UPI, it was the result of apparent food poisoning. Thankfully, the co-pilot hadn’t indulged in the dodgy dessert and was unaffected.
Extreme scenarios like these, though rare, prompted many airlines to institute strict mealtime protocols for flight crews since the FAA had (and still has) no official rules requiring it. Reader’s Digest spoke with former commercial airline pilot Dan Bubb, author of Landing in Las Vegas: Commercial Aviation and the Making of a Tourist City, to learn more about what pilots eat while flying.
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Do an airplane’s pilot and co-pilot really eat different meals?
Yes. It’s standard airline industry practice for pilots to forego enjoying the same in-flight feast, for one very good reason: safety. “The captain and first officer eat different meals so that if anything happens to one of them, the other will be able to land the plane,” explains Bubb, who is also a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Even if both pilots request the same meal, the captain has the final say on who eats what and when. “The captain is the authority on the passenger plane, and responsible for anything that happens that could jeopardize the safety of the passengers and crew members,” Bubb says.
Does this happen on short flights as well as long ones?
The same mealtime rule applies regardless of whether the flight is 45 minutes or 12 hours. However, there may not be a meal service on shorter flights. In those cases, pilots often bring their own food onboard, though the principle remains the same: Pilots must avoid eating the same potentially unsafe meal.
Are there any other restrictions on pilots’ meals?
Pilots not only eat different meals from each other, they also don’t dine on the same thing as their plane’s passengers. In the case of the 1982 flight to Boston, reportedly none of the 250 passengers onboard got sick since the crew had a different (albeit spoiled) meal than what was served in the cabin.
When it comes to a dish’s ingredients, Bubb says airline catering services typically prepare or adjust food so it aligns with a pilot’s dietary needs or religious restrictions. Pilots can also make their own food and bring it with them on trips.
Are pilots careful about what they eat before or during flights?
While pilots are generally free to eat whatever they like when off the clock, many exercise caution with their food choices anyway. “When pilots are not on the plane, they still have to be mindful about the type of food they eat,” Bubb says. “If one of the pilots got food poisoning, they likely will call in sick and another pilot will have to replace them.”
During his career, Bubb had his own wise personal rule about in-flight food: “If anything in our crew meals looked questionable, I didn’t eat it. Fortunately, when I was a pilot I never encountered food poisoning.”
Do flight attendants follow the same mealtime rules as pilots?
Flight attendants don’t have the same restrictions as pilots, but they do not eat what the pilots eat. “It depends on the airline contract, but flight attendants have the option of bringing their own food, or if there are extra meals made by catering, they might eat them,” Bubb says.
Flight attendants aren’t stuck with coach class food, either. A spokesperson for Finnish airline Finnair told the Telegraph that while cabin crew on long-haul flights eat the same business class meals served to passengers, the captain and first officer each get different meals from the flight attendants—and each other.
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Sources:
- Dan Bubb, former first officer at Air Vegas Airlines; email interview, April 2025
- UPI: “Tapioca Suspected Culprit in DC-8 Crew Sickness”
- Telegraph: “Why Pilots Eat Different Meals From You—and Different Meals From Each Other”
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