As the Holy month of Ramadan begins on March 12 in India, several airlines are offering special menu and amenities to those who are observing the sunrise to sunset fast. Premium lounges of a few Middle Eastern airlines will have traditional Arabic dishes while meal boxes will be served for Iftar 30,000 ft high in the sky. Special entertainment programmes have been lined up for those flying during the month of Ramadan.

If you are fasting and flying during Ramadan, know all about the airlines’ special offering.

What’s in the premium lounges?

Etihad Airways: At Etihad’s lounges in Abu Dhabi, New York, Washington DC and London Heathrow, guests can indulge in traditional Ramadan refreshments such as laban, Vimto, karkade, date milk, cucumber refresher, and rose milk.

Travellers who will break their fast before departure can enjoy an Iftar meal at Etihad lounges. From warm harira soup and lobster machbous ravioli to chicken biryani, guests can savour the rich flavours of Arabic cuisine. The dessert menu will include authentic Ramadan treats such as Vimto cheesecake, rose and pistachio mahalabia (milk pudding) and rangeena (pitted ripe date topped with a toasted flour and ghee mixture).

Emirates Airlines: At the Emirates lounges in Dubai International Airport (DXB), traditional Arabic sweets, dates and coffee will be offered during Ramadan.

Meals available in First and Business Class lounges will include a selection of hot and cold Arabic mezze, lentil soup, main courses of Arabic mixed grill with tahina, chicken kabsa (national dish of Saudi Arabia) served with dakous (tomato sauce) and raita, and desserts of kunafa (pastry soaked in syrup) pistachio cream, basboussa (syrup-soaked semolina cake) saffron, walnut Qatayef (Arabic pancake) ashta (thick cream) and ice cream flavours of Arabic coffee and dates or baklawa, alongside a host of traditional Arabic sweets and pastries.

Emirates lounges are also equipped with dedicated prayer rooms and ablution facilities.

Iftar meals onboard and at the departure gate:

Etihad Airways: In premium cabins, guests can indulge in delicacies such as lentil soup with fried chaami (Emirati cheese), lamb and date meatballs with saffron rice, and the classic warm umm ali dessert (national dessert of Egypt). For those seeking a lighter option, there will be Iftar salad.

Travellers in Economy class will enjoy Arabic mezze, braised lamb with vermicelli rice, fried onion, and almond and for the dessert, they will be served Vimto mousse with khabeesa.

For those breaking their fast just before or after landing, Etihad will provide Iftar bags containing Laban, water, and dates.

Emirates Airlines: For fasting customers at select Emirates Boarding Gates during Iftar time, there will be complimentary Iftar boxes to help break the fast – containing water, laban, a banana and dates. From the March 11, customers breaking their fast across all cabin classes to select destinations will be offered Ramadan meal boxes that will include light bites from hummus with spinach and Arabic bread, to tabbouleh with baba ghanoush, alongside sandwiches of Moroccan or zaatar chicken with pickled garlic mayonnaise, and some sweet treats of almond chocolate or Arabic baklawa, cashew nut and pine seed baklawa flowers, as well as staples like traditional dates and laban.

Iftar meals will be served in bespoke boxes, designed by Emirates to represent the rich Emirati heritage of the Al Sadu weavers.

Emirates’ Ramadan boxes will be served in addition to the regular hot meal service.

Onboard announcement of Imsak and Iftar time:

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.

Special Entertainment programs:

Etihad Airways’ signature E-BOX entertainment system features a selection of Ramadan programming and religious content, as well as an audio of the Holy Quran.

The new Ramadan programmes will include, Rehlat Haya, which explores and promotes behaviours that lead to happiness and stability from a different perspectives.

Guests can also tune in to Chef Bil Bait a cooking show, hosted by Al-Halabi. They can also watch the El Dunia Ramadan series that showcases how various cultures celebrate Ramadan.

Emirates ice will feature special religious content including Rehlet Hayat, Qawafel Al Samaa, Hom Al Omr, Fatawa and Al Ayyam Al Khaliya in Arabic. In Urdu, ice will feature Ramadan Mah e Rehmat, Niyamat-E-Ramadan, Mahe Ramadan as well as Ramzan Mehfil-E-Zikr in Hindi. The Holy Qur’an is also available on ice.

Popular series and dramas will be available such as Seeb Wa Ana Aseeb, Safah Al Giza and El Ghareeb as well as AB Talks, the classic Darb el Zalag, and popular Turkish series dubbed in Arabic such as Ehtiram, Behzat and Al Hob Al Ghayr Muktam.

Travel Discounts:

This Ramadan, Turkish Airlines is offering a 30% discount on flights from Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the United States, Europe and Türkiye. Book your flights between March 11, 2024 and April 9, 2024 and fly in the same time period to enjoy Turkish Airlines privileges during Ramadan.

Emirates customers on Umrah:

Ramadan boxes will be served on flights catering to Umrah groups travelling to Jeddah and Medina during the month of Ramadan. Passengers are also entitled to check in one bottle of Islamic holy water ‘Zamzam’ containing up to 5 litres per person at Dubai International Airport (DXB) and various airports in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.