A travel enthusiast has urged people not to eat one specific food on planes – but not everyone agrees.
Zavier Torrence, based in Tampa, Florida, is a TV and film creator who regularly travels by air. He made his stance clear on people eating tuna melt sandwiches onboard a plane in a video posted to TikTok.
In the clip, he could be seen seated inside an aircraft and pinching his nose. He captioned the video: “Because why are we eating a TUNA MELT on a flight?!?” and he said he “strongly believe people who eat on flights need to be incarcerated for 10 days.”
The viral video quickly made the rounds on TikTok, having amassed 1.3million views, 41,000 likes and sparking nearly a thousand comments at the time of writing and stirring up a lively discussion online about in-flight cuisine etiquette.
One commenter chimed in with a partial agreement, stating: “I feel like packing food is fine but unleashing a TUNA MELT in a small confined space is crazy.” On the flip side, another user confessed their own seafood sin: “Sorry I just love tuna and it’s the easiest sandwich to transport and all meats smell and I’m pescatarian.”
Another respondent sided with Zavier as they said: “I agree with you that a tuna melt is straight up evil on a flight, but you leave me and my bag of zebra cakes ALONE.” The debate even drew in industry insiders, with a flight attendant revealing: “I’m a flight attendant and I’m bringing my tuna sub from Subway.”
Some people took issue with the idea that tuna is a notably pungent food, asserting “tuna don’t even smell that strong to me”, “a tuna sandwich is so normal” and “tuna doesn’t even smell bad.” The commentary found consensus around the point that eating on a plane, particularly during lengthy flights, is generally acceptable.
A TikTok user chimed in: “I have a 10 hour flight coming up…you expect people not to eat during a flight???” while another remarked: “I’m flying to Europe soon, yes I’m eating on that long flight.” One self-identified luxury traveller confidently stated: “I’m always gonna eat my meal they give me in first class. Sorry.”
Further into the discussion on Zavier’s TikTok video, individuals recounted their encounters with fellow passengers’ onboard dining choices. One commented: “See I wouldn’t usually mind but a lady next to me had a baked potato??” Another described a peculiar incident saying: “Once on a flight from Boston to LA the man next to me whipped out an gallon sized ziplock bag of peeled hard boiled eggs…I was a senior in hs (high school) and wrote an essay about it for AP psych upon returning.”
Flight experts at Netflights weighed in on the debate surrounding long-haul flights, offering advice about onboard do’s and don’ts. Among their guidance was a recommendation to avoid foods with strong odours on planes, listing items such as eggs, tuna, Monster Munch crisps, and even broccoli as poor choices according to some flight attendants.
Specialists also advise against clapping upon landing, as it can disturb fellow travellers and interrupt flight attendants as they need to relay messages or communicate with the cockpit crew. Additionally, experts issue a stark warning to plane passengers to avoid fastening seatbelts around their ankles — an alarming trend popularised by TikTok — as it is “extremely dangerous and can cause deep vein thrombosis, which is a blood clot issue associated with flying.”