Family ‘opens cafeteria’ on flight: Viral video leaves social media divided, ‘Indians and their habit of…’

A viral video has criticised a group of ‘North Indian’ passengers for treating a flight like a cafeteria. They apparently brought homemade food, walked the aisle with plates and ate together. The video has garnered 1,7 million views on X so far.

The 25-second video depicts Indian family members. Some replies claim to be Gujarati. The viral video has sparked discussions about balancing cultural travel habits with consideration for others in confined aeroplane spaces, where food odours can affect fellow passengers.

“India lacks civic sense. A North Indian family opened a cafeteria on a running flight. Fifteen people sat together, got their own food, and walked around the cabin carrying plates. The problem isn't just the food; its smell will linger for the entire journey, and some passengers may not like that,” the X user wrote while sharing the clip.

“I’ve seen groups do this at airports too—sitting wherever there’s space, pulling out the theplas and dhokla, and turning the waiting area into an impromptu picnic. Saw a huge group doing exactly that at Kuala Lumpur airport, sitting across the floor and chairs in padmasana while having a full meal,” replied another user.

“Indians and their habit of travelling with boatloads of food for 2 hours of journey,” commented another user.

Another user wrote, “This video clearly shows people eating thepla and dhokla, yet you still chose to blame North Indians for their civic sense. Why are North Indians blamed for everything? Please learn some basic geography before throwing around the term North Indian.”

“Our Gujrati brothers must control the urge for two things: 1. Doing Garba anywhere 2. Eating food everywhere. And it’s not just light food - they will carry pickle, chutney, everything,” came from another.

“Bringing food is one thing, but turning the cabin into a dining hall affects everyone around you,” came another reply.

The interest in ‘viral video’ was high on Google during 24-25 August:

Family gets support

Many users, however, defended the family. One particular response has garnered 70,000 views and more than a hundred replies.

“Food is allowed on the flight, so they are not breaking any rules. And about the smell, does it not smell when airlines provide food?? Get out of this inferiority complex that the West has planted in your mind,” the user wrote.

“How very capitalist and entrepreneurial! As far as the issue of the aroma, if the airline decides to ban mom & pop street food from India, they might want to change their policy, but I admire their effort,” wrote another user while defending the family.

Another user wrote, “They seem to be enjoying their journey, and I don't see anything wrong with it unless it causes inconvenience to the public. It's time to move past the inferiority complex that the West has instilled in many people's minds.”