A travel enthusiast has issued a warning about eating one particular type of food on a plane.
Zavier Torrence, a TV and film content creator who frequently flies to and from his home in Tampa, Florida, took to TikTok to express his disdain for passengers who choose tuna melt sandwiches as their mid-air meal. In a five-second clip, he can be seen pinching his nose to avoid the smell of someone’s fishy food.
His TikTok caption reads: “Because why are we eating a TUNA MELT on a flight?!?” adding he “strongly believe people who eat on flights need to be incarcerated for 10 days.”
Zavier’s critique clearly struck a chord; his video quickly became viral, amassing 1.3million views, 41,000 likes, and nearly a thousand comments at the time of writing. But while many agreed with Zavier, not everyone was on board with his stance.
One commenter wrote: “I feel like packing food is fine but unleashing a TUNA MELT in a small confined space is crazy.” A self-confessed perpetrator admitted: “Sorry I just love tuna and it’s the easiest sandwich to transport and all meats smell and I’m pescatarian.”
Another insisted: “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.”Adding an insider perspective, a flight attendant revealed their habit: “I’m a flight attendant and I’m bringing my tuna sub from Subway.”
Some people have challenged the notion that tuna smells bad, with comments such as: “tuna don’t even smell that strong to me”, “a tuna sandwich is so normal” and “tuna doesn’t even smell bad.” The majority of people seem to agree that eating on a plane is perfectly fine, particularly during lengthy flights.
One TikTok user posed the question: “I have a 10 hour flight coming up…you expect people not to eat during a flight??? “Another weighed in: “I’m flying to Europe soon, yes I’m eating on that long flight.”
A self-proclaimed luxury traveller declared: “I’m always gonna eat my meal they give me in first class. Sorry.” Additional passengers shared their own in-flight dining experiences.
One person wrote: “See i wouldn’t usually mind but a lady next to me had a baked potato??” Another shared: “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.”
Experts at Netflights have delved into the contentious issues surrounding long-haul travel, offering advice on what not to do on flights. To adhere to proper plane etiquette, they recommend avoiding pungent foods like eggs, tuna, Monster Munch crisps, and even broccoli, which flight attendants rank among the worst offenders.
Aviation experts have advised against the viral TikTok trend of fastening seatbelts around ankles during flights, warning it’s “extremely dangerous and can cause deep vein thrombosis, which is a blood clot issue associated with flying.” They also suggest that clapping upon landing is an unwritten faux pas, as it can disrupt fellow passengers and hinder flight attendants from communicating vital information or coordinating with the pilot.
