Why Pilots & Co-Pilots Eat Different Meals

A Little Rule That Could Save an Entire Flight

Here’s something you’ve probably never thought about while enjoying your in-flight meal:
Up front in the cockpit, the captain and co-pilot are eating completely different dishes.

And no, it’s not because they have wildly different taste buds.
It’s a clever, little-known safety rule designed to protect everyone on board, just in case things go south… from the stomach down.

The Worst-Case Scenario: Food Poisoning at 35,000 Feet

Imagine this: You're flying over the Atlantic on an overnight haul. Suddenly, both pilots feel queasy, then worse.
The culprit? A bad batch of chicken curry from the galley.

It sounds like a bad comedy sketch, but it’s actually happened. In 1982, a flight from Washington D.C. to Lisbon had to turn around after the entire cockpit crew got sick from contaminated food.

Aviation experts took note. Since then, most commercial airlines enforce a policy that the pilot and co-pilot must eat different meals. It dramatically reduces the risk of both being affected by the same bad dish.

So, How Does It Work?

• The captain might eat the chicken.

• The co-pilot chooses the pasta — or a different catering batch entirely.

• No sharing. No swapping. No exceptions.

In some airlines, the pilot gets a “first class” meal while the co-pilot gets business class, all to ensure variety and reduce overlap.

On longer flights, meals may even be prepared at different facilities, just to be extra safe.

Can Pilots Bring Their Own Food?

Sometimes, yes, but it's often discouraged or outright banned. Why? Because outside food introduces unpredictable risk. If one of them picks up bad sushi at the airport, well… that's not in the flight manual.