A Muslim Singapore Airlines business class passenger is accusing the airline of a “deep personal and spiritual violation,” after he was served pork onboard a flight, despite trying to confirm the contents of the meal with the crew. The question is, what should the carrier’s liability be in a situation like this?
In this post:
Singapore Airlines passenger discovers that “prosciutto” is pork
This incident happened on July 7, 2025, on Singapore Airlines flight SQ24 from Singapore (SIN) to New York (JFK). A Muslim Singapore permanent resident traveling in business class was served an appetizer after takeoff, labeled as “grilled Mediterranean salad with prosciutto.” He was unfamiliar with the term “prosciutto,” so he asked the crew if it contained bacon or pork.
According to his version of what happened, he was assured by two flight attendants that it was not in fact pork. Based on that assurance, he began eating the meal, though became troubled by the taste and texture. So he later researched the term, and was shocked to discover that prosciutto is in fact pork.
As a practicing Muslim of over 30 years, he was “in complete shock,” and the experience constituted a “deep personal and spiritual violation.” He reached out to Singapore Airlines customer relations after the flight, and they confirmed that the crew was “initially uncertain whether the prosciutto was pork,” but offered him alternatives after the mistake was realized.
The crew reportedly suggested that he may not have been heard clearly when asking about the dish’s content, which he describes as “dismissive,” stating it compounds his sense of distress.
Singapore Airlines advises passengers with special dietary needs to pre-select their meals. This particular passenger highlighted how he ordered a Muslim meal for one of the meal services, but not for the lunch service, for which he selected something from the “Book the Cook” program.
The airline initially offered him a voucher worth S$150, which he described as “saddening and insulting.” The airline later increased the offer to 15,000 KrisFlyer miles, and then 30,000 KrisFlyer miles.
The traveler has rejected all those offers, claiming that “no person of faith — Muslim, Jew, Hindu, or otherwise — would ever willingly break a sacred dietary law in exchange for 30,000 miles.” He also stated that “this was not a case of a simple service failure,” and that this “led to the first violation of [his] religious dietary practice in 30 years.”
In response to this incident, Singapore Airlines has issued the following statement:
Singapore Airlines (SIA) deeply regrets that a customer on flight SQ24 from Singapore to New York on 7 July 2025 was served an appetiser that contained pork. We sincerely apologise to the affected customer for the distress this has caused.
When our cabin crew members became aware that the customer does not consume pork, they immediately apologised, removed the dish, and offered an alternative. Following the incident, we have strengthened our cabin crew training and service procedures, with particular emphasis on ingredient awareness and clear communications with customers regarding food contents.
SIA remains in direct contact with the affected customer regarding this incident. SIA is deeply committed to respecting the diverse religious and cultural backgrounds of all our customers. We advise customers with special dietary requirements, including religious needs, to pre-book their special meals for all meal services before their flights.
My take on this dietary restriction violation
Big picture, there’s probably a lesson to be learned here in terms of Singapore Airlines adding labels to its menus that show the contents of a particular dish. In fairness, most airlines don’t have these kinds of indicators on menus, so Singapore Airlines is hardly alone in that regard.
The crew should’ve probably done a better job in terms of giving the passenger correct information, though it also sounds like there might have been a miscommunication, with the crew claiming that his question may not have been heard clearly.
I think it’s reasonable for Singapore Airlines to provide some gesture of goodwill for the misunderstanding, as the airline did. However, personally I take issue with passengers in these kinds of situations essentially claiming this was a life changing event, and that they should be compensated accordingly (as is the case here, since the guy refused 30,000 KrisFlyer miles, and expects a lot more).
If a dietary restriction is truly life changing for you in terms of the religious impact, I think it’s also important to do everything in your power to prevent something like this from happening:
- The man chose not to order a special meal when he could have, which would have assured he didn’t get served pork
- The man ended up researching what prosciutto was after the meal, but if he was so uncertain that he asked the crew twice, maybe he should’ve also researched it before eating it, since clearly he was skeptical (Singapore Airlines business class passengers get free Wi-Fi)
So yeah, the crew should try to give him the right information. But I also think it’s not fair to turn something that amounts to a basic misunderstanding into a situation where he feels that the crew violated him in an unforgivable way. It’s not fair to shift that kind of a burden onto those in the service industry, in my opinion.
I don’t eat pork — not for religious reasons, but more for personal ethical reasons — and I get frustrated when I’m served pork despite specifically asking not to receive it. However, I just get mildly frustrated, and ultimately I try not to make it other peoples’ problem, because the world doesn’t revolve around me. At least that’s my take.
Bottom line
A Singapore Airlines business class passenger is furious, after he was served a “prosciutto” dish, which he later discovered contained pork. In fairness, he asked the crew about this, and they reportedly informed him that the dish didn’t have pork, or there was some misunderstanding.
The airline has apologized, has promised to learn from the incident, and has offered him a gesture of goodwill, but clearly he wants more, as he states this led to the first violation of his religious dietary practice in 30 years.
What do you make of this incident, and what kind of liability do you think the airline should have?
If you care about animals/don't want to eat pigs order a vegan meal and don't eat items you don't recognize.
Another entitled, "My sky daddy is angry at me..." sob story.
What about the millions who find incessant public displays of religious practice, symbology, entitlement, and (far too often) violence, deeply offensive to our rational, scientific, and non-war-mongering minds?
Maybe SG could avoid sprinkling a perfectly good vegetarian side with dead pig. In all seriousness, the side dishes that come with special meals usually leave to be desired, so I can understand wanting to navigate the regular menu while staying within dietary requirements. Really, I don’t think I’ve ever been served a normal dessert with a special ordered meal. The risk is that the airline tries to be fancy by putting a shrimp or...
Maybe SG could avoid sprinkling a perfectly good vegetarian side with dead pig. In all seriousness, the side dishes that come with special meals usually leave to be desired, so I can understand wanting to navigate the regular menu while staying within dietary requirements. Really, I don’t think I’ve ever been served a normal dessert with a special ordered meal. The risk is that the airline tries to be fancy by putting a shrimp or some ham on the salad. For me, this is a risk I will take to avoid the unripe, tasteless fruit pretending to be dessert.
Its appalling how bad cabin crew are with dietary stuff but no law has been broken.
If I dont trust something on a plane meal, I dont eat it.
At least this guy had the option of not eating it. We dont have the option of getting non-halal food for example.
A Singaporean flying to Ameirca?
We just infected Singapore with Karen-woke-snowflake syndrome.
Hypocrites are the most vulnerable to this disease.
Or maybe this person is just afraid of seeing a Star of David on his pre order meal?
We just had a similar controversy few days ago.
Did... did... did he survive?
Muslims are absolute snowflakes. They expect special treatment and coddling, not to mention that the 21st century legitimizes their medieval religion.
Are you sure you're talking about Muslims and not others?
You can replace that with many different things and the statement still holds.
This is crap Ben. You're letting down your loyal readers of the last 10 years for writing this kind of stuff.
Ben,
Respectfully and regardless of who is at fault or not in this seemingly minor situation, the bigotry and ignorance in your blog's comments section is truly getting out of control. You've previously mentioned content moderation but it's clearly not working. As someone who has read your posts daily since 2016, I don't think that I can continue reading/following if this doesn't change. I truly hope you can find a fix.
Yes, it's very important we respect muslims. We must ignore the blatant, systemic, widespread and community-backed extreme abuse of the LGBTQ+ community and minorities by muslims. Muslims are very important to the world, even if they cause havoc and mayhem literally - literally - everywhere they go.
Stop using your eyes. Just do what the tv says.
Which comments are the bigoted ones? I think you should specify.
Sadly, that's the way to "engage" readers, or at least feed the engagement algorithms. There were numbers out a few months ago showing usage trends for the major points and miles blogs, and Ben's numbers were down. This is the result.
This reminds me of the time when I was eating at a restaurant in Australia. I ordered the “breaded ravioli.” I asked 1 million times what was what was inside of it, and the waiter repeated over and over, it’s just “breaded ravioli.”
As a vegetarian, the satisfied me.
As a Jewish person who eats no pork, the following, didn’t even cross my mind….
The food came, and I took a bite… Red...
This reminds me of the time when I was eating at a restaurant in Australia. I ordered the “breaded ravioli.” I asked 1 million times what was what was inside of it, and the waiter repeated over and over, it’s just “breaded ravioli.”
As a vegetarian, the satisfied me.
As a Jewish person who eats no pork, the following, didn’t even cross my mind….
The food came, and I took a bite… Red sauce used from the middle. I asked the shift to come over. As it turns out, this “breaded ravioli“ contained boiled pork blood.
Poor baby. Here's an idea - get over it.
Your story is similar to this article -- pretty clear from the answer "Just breaded ravioli" that the server didn't know the answer to your question, and didn't even know what ravioli is (since it always has SOMETHING inside). In your case, however, there was no easy online resource to consult to get the correct answer even if it was clear you didn't get a reliable one from the waiter.
Eat that pork!
Flew Singapore Airlines for years, and having spent years as well living in that part of the world, I highly doubt the cabin crew were rudely indifferent to this guy's situation. Singapore Airlines has some of the best (if not THE best) cabin crew in the world. They're a premier airline for a reason. That being said, if he was unsure of what he was eating, and he didn't want to eat pork, he probably...
Flew Singapore Airlines for years, and having spent years as well living in that part of the world, I highly doubt the cabin crew were rudely indifferent to this guy's situation. Singapore Airlines has some of the best (if not THE best) cabin crew in the world. They're a premier airline for a reason. That being said, if he was unsure of what he was eating, and he didn't want to eat pork, he probably shouldn't have eaten it purely out of caution. Why is it the rest of the world's responsibility? The error is on him. I wouldn't give him 10 cents.
I can't imagine any Singaporean not sensitive to religious dietary restrictions either. But on SQ, there are now enough foreign crew from countries not aware of these details.
Lol wait until he finds out there is no god. THAT's life changing. All religious are stupid and make up bullshit rules as they go. Let it go.
*religions
Tom Cruise and John Travolta suggest otherwise.
You can’t unring the bell. Get over it and take the miles.
This is the worst you can do. We all know muslim countries work well, and I agree with the well-educated that women and the LGBTQ+ community should really stand with islam.
In fact, we must bow down to muslims. Especially the gays, because reasons. Chrysler loves meeting Arab men, for example.
I think more than anything this highlights how SQs meal services in J are actually quite overrated. I flew SQ21/22 last month and there’s no choice for starter for both meals on each respective flight. Even BA and UA have choices for starters. A world class airline should always have a choice of a meat/fish and vegetarian starter. And fwiw that prosciutto salad dish wasn’t that good either…
Failure on both sides. Unquestionably the airline should make sure that the crew understands the ingredients in the food they're serving, at least with respect to any commonly-questioned ingredient (meat, pork, beef, gluten, soy, etc). It's pretty ridiculous that they did not have the correct answer to the question "what, exactly, is prosciutto"? And, if you don't know, just say that!
On the flip side, if you have dietary rules that you follow you need...
Failure on both sides. Unquestionably the airline should make sure that the crew understands the ingredients in the food they're serving, at least with respect to any commonly-questioned ingredient (meat, pork, beef, gluten, soy, etc). It's pretty ridiculous that they did not have the correct answer to the question "what, exactly, is prosciutto"? And, if you don't know, just say that!
On the flip side, if you have dietary rules that you follow you need to be responsible for what you eat. The gentleman in question had the ability to easily determine what prosciutto is. The people I know who rigorously follow Halal dietary standards will not eat meat that is not obviously in a form that is Halal or that has not been under their supervision, or the supervision of a Halal butcher, since it was slaughtered.
An apology is warranted for the service failure, and a token payment perhaps (the 15,000 miles seems reasonable) but this was a mistake, not a deliberate insult, and the mistake was equally the passenger's.
Lucky flying blue just devalued SAS awards…write about this
Nobody gives a flying f. We are talking a religion where child *grape* is permitted.
You mean daddy propaganda machine trying to cover up *grape* by their priests?
Or do you also use *gclergy* to replace orgy.
If he cares so deeply about his religious practices, he should have ordered the halal meal. Full stop.
Ben you a hypocrite
Own it
When you wrote about that free Palestine message on a Jewish meal your tone was totally different, I understand it’s a blog but you have clearly chosen to make this seem like not an issue at all. Both should either be an issue or not an issue. Apply the same standards for both.
There is a difference between a genuine mistake (this) and bullying passengers based on their religion. Do you get it?
First story: Ben criticizes airline for writing a political message to a customer who just ordered his/her meal.
Second story: Ben criticizes passenger for freaking out over a meal because they chose not to pre-select when they could have...
How is this the same thing?
First story: Ben criticizes airline for writing a political message to a customer who just ordered his/her meal.
Second story: Ben criticizes passenger for freaking out over a meal because they chose not to pre-select when they could have...
How is this the same thing?
How is this the same thing?
Let me explain to a cognitive biased hypocrite.
For some snowflake.
"Free Palestine" is a symbol not just a scribble.
“Prosciutto” is a symbol not just a piece of food.
So yes, someone is making a valid point. Own it.
This is why the Western world should not cater (quite literally) to Islamists
How is Singapore Airlines the “Western World “? You can even see other Muslims stating that he is over reacting and yet you bring a whole religion into this.
No "dietary law" has been broken, the religion explicitly excludes situations when pork or other "forbidden" item is eaten unknowingly. God is still okay with the guy - at least as far as diet is concerned, trying to extort money from SQ and using religion as a tool may be frowned upon by him.
Nope, I am totally fine with extortion also.
That religion of pieces deserves all what’s coming for them. They blow up way too easily.
Yikes
Much as I hate to say it, that is very witty and one of the best comments I've read online in a very, very long time.
Hard to believe Lucky didn't censor it as he did with a much milder comment that I made a few days ago.
It's a very obese woman (they/them) in Spokane who censors the site. They've recently decided to let more engagement through due to falling site views, so the obese woman in Spokane had to let her blue hair chill for a bit.
Special meals are tricky. I eat neither meat or shellfish. While I usually enjoy pre-ordered vegetarian main courses, I can’t stand wait often accompanies those meals. The breads aren’t fresh, the desserts aren’t imaginative, the appetizers are bland, and the the second meals are afterthoughts.
While much of my diet is based on Jewish kosher guidelines, I’m pretty relaxed if non-kosher food enters my system. A wise person once guided me:
“It more important to...
Special meals are tricky. I eat neither meat or shellfish. While I usually enjoy pre-ordered vegetarian main courses, I can’t stand wait often accompanies those meals. The breads aren’t fresh, the desserts aren’t imaginative, the appetizers are bland, and the the second meals are afterthoughts.
While much of my diet is based on Jewish kosher guidelines, I’m pretty relaxed if non-kosher food enters my system. A wise person once guided me:
“It more important to think about what comes out of your mouth than what goes into your mouth.”
as a muslim, he’s def blowing this out of proportion and trying to milk it for some sort of compensation (accepting it feels way worse than accidentally eating pork)
genuine accidents aren’t a sin
what should the carrier’s liability be in a situation like this?
ZERO
NOTHING
NADA
“Singapore Airlines passenger discovers that “prosciutto” is pork”
Very common term. 100% up to the passenger to know basic terms.
“he ordered a Muslim meal for one of the meal services, but not for the lunch service”
100% on the passenger.
Smells like a setup to me.
I want bacon.
The dude did not request a halal meal, so I do not feel bad for him. He is just looking for a payday. My sister is married to a Muslim, so I know that if a person accidently eats pork, it is not considered a sin, since was done because of ignorance. Also, It isn't the airlines responsibilty to monitor his dietary restrictions. When in doubt, bring your own. I always order vegetarian and have...
The dude did not request a halal meal, so I do not feel bad for him. He is just looking for a payday. My sister is married to a Muslim, so I know that if a person accidently eats pork, it is not considered a sin, since was done because of ignorance. Also, It isn't the airlines responsibilty to monitor his dietary restrictions. When in doubt, bring your own. I always order vegetarian and have had a few times of them not having the right meal. My reponse is to not eat the meal served and always bring a snack.
Exactly. I eat kosher, so I either order the kosher meal (which usually is terrible), or I bring my own food.
How on earth someone with strict diet doesn't second guess a meat that looks like that regardless of what being told?
For someone who is trying to portray follwing strict dietary restrictions and not ordering a special meal is just trying to scam compensation. Just like those LobbyZeal duos who extort hotels for a living.
Not sure how he survived this long doing like this and never break dietary restrictions.
He probably eat haram countless times.
Everybody knows that prosciutto is pork. If you're uneducated then don't piss everyone off.
It's also true that the crew should have known. But as you said, it's not a life changing event, this traveler just brought it out of proportion in my opinion.
I am extremely confidence that a lot of ESL and those that live in area where prosciutto is not commonly eaten definitely doesn't know. It's not a common ingredient in many parts of the world.
Uh, I don't care if this so-called person doesn't know it's pork. It can fly with one of its own airlines, no need to blow up about it.
Muslims ruin everything they touch.
I totally agree it's ultimately his responsibility to ensure that he books a special meal and that he could have just avoided eating the prosciutto if he didn't know what it was. I don't eat pork (or lamb or seafood or rabbit and lots of other animals for that matter) and I always choose the muslim meal and it's usually even better than the loaded choices as you get served first, get extra fruits and...
I totally agree it's ultimately his responsibility to ensure that he books a special meal and that he could have just avoided eating the prosciutto if he didn't know what it was. I don't eat pork (or lamb or seafood or rabbit and lots of other animals for that matter) and I always choose the muslim meal and it's usually even better than the loaded choices as you get served first, get extra fruits and the choices offered are usually tasty Indian or Asian inspired meals. On the flip side, you get a "downgraded dessert" and sometimes the Muslim meal is lamb or seafood...
However, I can assure you that not everyone knows that prosciutto is pork. I had never encountered prosciutto, pancetta, chorizo, pepperoni etc.. before I moved to Europe. And even worse than that, in some countries people are used to "bacon", "ham", "sausages" etc.. that are made from beef, turkey or chicken and would not even think that it's pork.
Not everyone knows that
No, "everybody" doesn't know that prosciutto is pork.
Many, many people from less developed countries, even those from countries where pork is a staple food, can't be expected to know what prosciutto is, given that the real thing is a regional European luxury good.
Hell, even I don't know what "prosciutto" is - I know what the real thing, prosciutto di Parma is (heaven on earth) but "prosciutto" could be anything under the sun and usually is.
Ok fair enough not everybody knows. Now if you don't know and care so much about not eating pork, what about either ordering a special meal, or refusing to eat what you don't know.
Instead of making it everyone else's problem?
Outside of Europe, I doubt that five percent of people know what prosciutto is.