UAE airlines Emirates and Etihad serve up Ramadan dishes

Arabian Business

09-03-2025

UAE airlines Emirates and Etihad are serving traditional Arabic foods and iftar dishes during Ramadan.
Emirates is serving thousands of meal boxes for fasting customers both onboard and at boarding gates and offering traditional Ramadan dishes in the lounges.
At the Emirates Lounges in Dubai International Airport (DXB), an array of Arabic sweets, dates and coffee are being served during Ramadan.
Emirates and Etihad Ramadan dishes
Traditional dishes available in First and Business Class lounges include:
A selection of hot and cold Arabic mezze
Lentil soup
Arabic mixed grill with tahina
Lamb mandi served with dakous and coriander mint raita
Chicken machboos served with cucumber yoghurt sauce
Pistachio kunafa
Halawet al jibn
Esh bulbul with lotus
Basboussa ashta
Cheese kunafa
Walnut kathayef
Chocolate baklava
Emirates Lounges in Cairo and Jeddah will also serve an array of Ramadan dishes. Emirates lounges have dedicated prayer rooms and ablution facilities to ensure a peaceful environment for worship.
For the comfort of fasting customers at select Emirates Boarding Gates during iftar time, complimentary iftar boxes to help break the fast – containing water, laban, a banana, and dates are distributed.
To ensure the highest levels of accuracy for fasting Muslim passengers, Emirates uses a unique tool to calculate the correct timings for imsak (the time to commence fasting) and iftar while in-flight, based on the times of the sunrise and sunset of the location the flight is passing by using the aircraft's longitude, latitude, and altitude.
When the sun sets, passengers will be officially informed of the iftar time by the captain.
Customers breaking their fast across all cabin classes to select destinations are being offered nutritionally balanced Ramadan meal boxes.
Iftar meals will be served in bespoke boxes, designed by Emirates to represent the geometric design that features in traditional Islamic art.
The meal boxes will include light bites of hummus or moutabel with Arabic bread, sweet treats of almond chocolate, walnut baklawa, apricot ball and traditional dates, alongside a chicken zaatar and mozzarella cheese wrap or lamb shawarma and halloumi cheese wrap, with some laban to help customers break their fast.
Emirates' Ramadan boxes are served in addition to the regular hot meal service.
Etihad Airways, meanwhile, is also bringing treasured Emirati traditions onboard its flights to guests all over the world this Ramadan, inviting them to join the celebration and share in Emirati culture.
Turky Al Hammadi, Director of Product and Hospitality, at Etihad Airways, said: 'Each year, Ramadan gifts us the opportunity to share beloved traditions and flavours inspired by the Emirati hospitality we embody, bringing a sense of community to our guests around the world.
'This Ramadan, we've aligned with the UAE's Year of Community to reflect the importance of connection and togetherness, values that resonate deeply during this blessed month.
'We are honoured to offer our guests an exclusive and thoughtful experience this Ramadan. Etihad Airways understands the significance of this sacred time, and our carefully curated Ramadan menus are designed to provide comfort, tradition, and elevate our Food and Beverage experience.
'From the moment our guests arrive at the airport to the moment they disembark, we strive to elevate their journey with delicious meals that reflect the spirit of Ramadan, ensuring a memorable and fulfilling experience at every altitude.'
Throughout the holy month, the airline is offering guests a cultured culinary journey with authentic Emirati flavours and Ramadan favourites, made with fresh, regional ingredients to savour the tastes of the UAE and demonstrate the airline's commitment to premium and sustainable ingredients.