Why your airplane meal tastes like cardboard: It’s not just bad cooking

If you’ve ever peeled back the foil on an in-flight meal, poked at the rubbery chicken, and wondered how pasta ends up tasting like paper, you’re not alone. But before you blame the airline chef, consider this: the real problem might be your own taste buds. At 35,000 feet, your senses don’t work the way they do on the ground. And that ruins your appetite in ways you might not expect.

For many travellers, airplane food is one of the most disappointing parts of flying. Even when it looks fine, it often tastes bland, dry, or oddly seasoned. Airline catering has long been the butt of jokes, but there’s more going on than just budget cuts or bad recipes. A lot of it comes down to how the human body responds to the conditions inside a plane.

Here’s a closer look at why your food tastes so different in the sky, and why it almost always tastes worse.

The cabin kills your sense of taste
At cruising altitude, the cabin environment changes the way we perceive flavour. The air inside a plane is pressurized to levels equivalent to an altitude of about 6,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level. This, combined with extremely low humidity, often around 10 to 15%, dries out the nose and mouth. Since the sense of smell is essential for tasting food, a dry nasal passage can dull flavour perception dramatically.

Studies have shown that our sensitivity to salty and sweet flavours can drop by as much as 30 percent in-flight. This means a dish that might taste perfectly balanced on the ground can seem under-seasoned or bland in the air.

Pre-cooked and reheated: The reality of airline catering
Another key factor is how airplane food is prepared and served. Meals are cooked in large batches at ground-based catering facilities, often hours before the flight. They’re then chilled and transported to the aircraft, where they are reheated in convection ovens.

This process doesn’t do many foods any favours. Fried items lose their crispness. Grilled meats often turn rubbery. Delicate sauces can separate, and vegetables may become limp and overcooked. Since there is no open flame cooking allowed on commercial aircraft, all reheating has to happen in tightly controlled conditions that prioritize food safety and efficiency over flavour or texture.

Sound and vibration affect flavour too
Beyond pressure and humidity, other aspects of the cabin environment also influence the way we experience food. The constant background noise from engines, airflow, and general cabin activity can interfere with how we perceive texture and flavour. Research has suggested that loud ambient noise can suppress sweetness and enhance the perception of umami.

This helps explain why some foods, such as tomato juice or dishes with strong umami notes, seem more appealing at altitude. It also means more subtle or delicately flavoured dishes lose their complexity when served in-flight.

Recipes are altered to compensate
Airlines are aware of these challenges and often adjust their menus accordingly. Chefs may increase salt, sugar, or spice levels to counteract flavour loss. But this doesn’t always translate well, especially when the adjustments are made without fully accounting for how the reheating process will affect the final product.

Meals are also designed to be safe, shelf-stable, and able to withstand long periods in transit. This limits the range of ingredients and cooking methods that can be used.

Mass production leaves little room for refinement
Lastly, airlines must feed hundreds of passengers efficiently and within a tight budget. Even for premium cabins, catering is a logistical feat involving food safety regulations, supply chain constraints, and time pressures. These factors make it difficult to prioritize quality or customization.

Why some things actually taste better
Interestingly, not all in-flight food experiences are negative. Some ingredients, particularly those rich in umami, like mushrooms, tomatoes, or soy sauce, hold up better at altitude. That’s one reason why tomato juice, a relatively niche beverage on the ground, is among the most requested drinks on airplanes. The cabin conditions actually make it taste fuller and more savoury.

In-flight food gets a bad reputation, but much of the issue lies in the physical environment of air travel rather than culinary negligence. While some airlines are investing in better meals and more thoughtful menu design, the fundamental challenges of eating in the air remain.

Next time your meal feels a little underwhelming, it might not be the food that changed, it’s you.