Aeroplane food is notoriously bad but can cost you a lot of money on board if you're on a long flight and need to eat. One way to avoid having to spend hard-earned cash on a substandard meal is to bring your own food, but what airlines allow this and what are the rules?
You can bring your own food through security and onto the flight as long as it is not liquid, like soup. While sandwiches and salads are usually fine, you must eat them before landing as some places, such as the EU, do not allow passengers to take fresh meat or dairy from the UK into the country.
However, easyJet, Ryanair, TUI and British Airways all do allow passengers to bring their own food onboard. Jet2's rules are a little less clear but suggest cold food is fine, the MEN reports. There are different rules for baby food, up to a litre of which can be brought on flights.
Read more: TUI apologises after passengers arrive in Florida from Newcastle without their luggage
Remember, it is ok to take solid food through airport security, but not liquids. Any liquids must be in individual, clear bottles with a capacity of no more than 100ml.
You cannot consume your own alcohol on flights, even if bought from duty-free. If you want to drink booze on board, order it from the in-flight trolley.
Here we have broken down the rules for each airline.
easyJet
You can bring food onboard, as long as any liquids (brought from home) such as soup or custard are in clear containers of no more than 100ml. Non-alcoholic drinks, including hot drinks, can be brought on board if they were bought in the departure lounge.
Ryanair
'Feel free' to bring your own food and soft drinks on board, Ryanair says. However, unlike EasyJet, hot drinks are not welcome.
"In the interest of safety we cannot allow passengers to board the plane with hot drinks or consume their own alcohol during the flight," Ryanair says.
Jet2
Hot drinks and hot food are not allowed to be brought onto Jet2's planes. But the rules do not say anything about not bringing cold food, such as sandwiches, from home or the departure lounge.
However, Jet2's rules state that customers are not allowed to bring food onboard if it is "prohibited from being carried by the applicable laws, regulations or orders of any country to be flown from, to or over". Technically, they could argue that meat and dairy from the UK can not be brought onboard flights to the EU and confiscate your sandwich.
Jet2 also says passengers can not bring "items which in our reasonable opinion are unsuitable for carriage by reason of their weight, size or character or which are fragile or perishable or which may affect the safety, health or comfort of other passengers or crew, this may include hot or strong smelling foods and drinks".
In reality, if you've got it through security, can fit it in your bag and it does not have a strong smell, you should be fine to bring your own cold food and snacks on board.
TUI
Passengers travelling with TUI can bring their own food onboard. It says it advises passengers to bring "low-risk food such as pre-made sandwiches and snacks that can be eaten cold".
British Airways
Passengers can take solid foods like " sandwiches, biscuits, fruit, nuts, etc", onto the plane says British Airways. Liquids like drinks, soups, sauces, jams and jellies must be in clear containers with a capacity of no more than 100ml.
British Airways adds: "You can buy duty-free liquids, gels or cream products of more than 100ml from airport shops or onboard, provided that they have been sealed at the point of purchase in a Security Tamper Evident Bag with the receipt inside."
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