Etihad Airways Gluten-Free Long-Haul Review: Abu Dhabi - Melbourne (December 2025).

A Coeliac Traveller
Dec 31, 2025
5 min read

Updated: Dec 31, 2025

Location: Abu Dhabi - Melbourne | Date: December 2025 | Airline: Etihad Airways

Etihad airways plane on the ground in Melbourne

For the most accurate and up-to-date information visit the special dietary page on Etihad Airways Website: Request a special meal when flying with Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways Gluten-Free Quick Overview:

Pros:

No reaction.
The ciabatta was really nice.
All round decent meals.
A generous number of meals were served for a flight of this length.

Cons:

Can't guarantee cross contamination.
If you have a late seat change, beware that your dietary meal won't always change seats with you.
The desserts are underwhelming.

A Coeliac Traveller's Tip:

Proceed with caution. The service and food on board were good, however the airline can not guarantee cross-contamination. Also make sure to pre-book in advance.

Etihad Airways Gluten-Free Full Review:

Good afternoon readers,

Welcome back to Gluten-Free Travel Reviews. Today we are reviewing Etihad Flight EY460 from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne. This was the second leg of our journey from Paris back home to Melbourne. To read our experiences on the first leg from Paris to Abu Dhabi, click on this link: Etihad Airways Gluten-Free Review: Paris - Abu Dhabi (December 2025)

After a very short connection in Abu Dhabi, it wasn’t long before we found ourselves boarding again, ready to complete the journey home. Abu Dhabi to Melbourne is a long flight, coming in at 13 hours and 20 minutes, so let’s jump onboard and get ready for take-off.

Before Flying:

It is important to note that any special dietary meals (including gluten-free meals) need to be pre-ordered at least 24 hours before your flight. This can be done on the Etihad Airways website through the Manage Your Booking section. You will also need to select the meal for each leg of your booking. To see the full list of special meals, and get the most up to date information visit Etihad Airways' official website: Request a special meal when flying with Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways Service:

For all meals on this flight, passengers with special dietary requirements were served first. Meals were delivered directly to seats before the main meal service began. This is consistent with many other airlines, and it is something I appreciate. When the meal was delivered, the flight attendant checked that both the passenger and the meal were correct. Each meal also arrived with a small placard indicating the specific dietary requirement (see image below).

Gluten-free placard Etihad airways — The placard that accompanies gluten-free meals. It usually consists of your name and seat number (these have been removed for privacy reasons).

Throughout the flight, three gluten-free meals were served: two main meals—one shortly after departure and another toward the end of the flight—and a lighter meal in between. This felt like the right amount for a flight of this length, as you were never left hungry. I have flown on rival airlines on similar long-haul routes where only two meals were offered, so it was nice to see Etihad providing that little bit extra. On a long-haul flight, it really does make a difference.

Etihad Airways Gluten-Free Meals:

It was not long into the flight before the first meal was served. This consisted of chicken in a tomato-based sauce, rice, and beans. Accompanying this were a small salad, a bread roll, and a selection of melon. The chicken and rice were a solid pairing, with the tomato-based sauce adding some welcome flavour. The salad was fine, as were the bread roll and the assorted melon.

gluten-free meal on Etihad airways — The first gluten-free meal of the flight. Chicken, rice, beans, salad, bread roll, and a variety of melons.

Our next meal was a light meal consisting of a gluten-free ciabatta filled with pesto, roasted vegetables, capsicum, and tomatoes, along with a small container of mixed grapes. The ciabatta was terrific—bursting with flavour—and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The grapes were, well, grapes. I enjoyed them, and they balanced the meal nicely.

Etihad Airways gluten-free sandwhich — Our second gluten-free meal of the flight.

Several hours later, our third and final meal was served and consisted of fish with fried rice, a small salad, a bread roll, and a fruit salad. The fish and rice were nice, with the fish served in a pleasant tomato-based sauce. The salad was decent, featuring a balsamic vinegar dressing, as was the bread roll. The fruit salad, however, was a little underwhelming. Across all our Etihad flights on this trip, the desserts were consistently underwhelming.

Our third and final gluten-free meal onboard Etihad Airways

A slight seating issue:

For this flight, I was originally seated in an aisle seat and my partner in the middle. As the flight was at capacity, a young lady was seated in the window seat. After boarding, a flight attendant approached me and asked if I could swap to the window seat, as the young lady was an unaccompanied minor and Etihad’s policy requires unaccompanied minors to be seated in an aisle seat. I agreed to the swap and ended up in the window seat—not a bad trade at all. However, I mention this because it meant that during the final meal service, the flight attendant attempted to deliver my special gluten-free meal to the young lady. Thankfully, I noticed this and was able to quickly rectify the confusion. This is just something to be aware of if you do find yourself having a late seat swap.

Conclusion:

After a short delay due to weather, we touched down in Melbourne, relieved that such a long journey had finally come to an end. Overall, Etihad’s gluten-free service performs well in some areas but could use refinement in others. The meals were enjoyable and filling, with the ciabatta standing out as the highlight of this flight. While the food may not quite match the quality of other airlines I’ve flown, it was still satisfying - and importantly, there were no adverse reactions to any of the meals. Offering three gluten-free meals on a flight of this length is a major plus, ensuring that passengers were never left hungry.

Where Etihad could improve is in its procedures. Having a gluten-free meal offered to another passenger due to a seat swap is not ideal, even though it was easily resolved. Last-minute seat changes do happen, so a better system is needed to ensure special dietary meals follow the passenger rather than the seat.

This article was correct at time of writing in December 2025.