‘Picnic in the sky': Indian family eats homemade food on IndiGo flight, video sparks etiquette debate

A video shared on X showing a large Indian family eating homemade food on an IndiGo flight has triggered a debate over public etiquette and what constitutes acceptable behaviour while travelling by air.

The footage, uploaded by a man on X, shows a group of passengers travelling together on the private airline. According to the post, one woman from the family begins handing out disposable plates to the other passengers.

The family then serves homemade food, including parathas, vegetables and snacks, onto the plates. Members of the group are seen passing the food around and eating together, creating what the post describes as a “picnic in the sky” atmosphere inside the aircraft cabin.


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Debate over eating homemade food on flights

The video has led to differing views online over whether eating food brought from home on a flight amounts to a breach of public etiquette.

Some users argued that sharing meals is a normal part of Indian culture and said there should be no issue as long as the passengers do not create a mess or inconvenience others.

Others maintained that different forms of travel have different norms and that airline cabins should be treated differently from trains or other modes of transport.

The post suggested that the increasing accessibility of air travel across India is bringing traditional habits into closer contact with expectations around modern travel etiquette.

‘If IndiGo has no objection...’

The video drew a range of reactions from users on X.

One user questioned whether the airline crew had already issued any advisory regarding the practice, writing, “But surely, an advisory must have been issued about this on the IndiGo flight? If the IndiGo folks have no objection to it, then the passengers shouldn't have any problem with it either.”

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Another user said carrying food from home while travelling was common among Indians, writing, “We Indians have this great habit, bro—when we go on a trip, we pack some food for a little party or whatever. I'm on the train too, brought a ton of food from home, even brought curd. Gonna be a party.”

A third commenter responded humorously, “The peculiarity of Indians is that they don't find peace until they've spread the raita.”

Another user took a stricter view and wrote, “Bringing food on the plane in checked in baggage should be banned for every Indian flight.”