Gluten-Free Flying: Virgin Australia Melbourne to Cairns Review

Virgin Australia Gluten-Free Review

Location: Melbourne - Cairns

Date: June 2025

Quick Overview:

Pros:

• There are a limited amount of snacks on the menu that are gluten-free.

Cons:

• Limited selection to choose from.

• No main meals are offered gluten-free.

• No free snacks.

A Coeliac Traveller's Tip:

It is highly recommended that you bring your food own board. The onboard menu has only limited snack options that are gluten-free. This may be enough for short flights, but for long flights prepare to bring food with you.

Full Review:

Good afternoon readers,

Welcome back to another gluten-free flight review.  Today we are onboard Virgin Australia flight VA 1297 from Mellboourne to Cairns.. Virgin Australia is one of three main airlines operating within Australia, with a fleet now consisting mainly of Boeing 737s. As they mainly operate the one type, that means the service will be very similar across the entire Virgin Australia fleet. Today’s flight is just short of 3.5 hours and should get us into Cairns just before 8pm.

Taking a look at the onboard menu, there is unfortunately not much on offer or gluten-free passengers. None of the main meals, including the hot meals, are gluten-free. Some of the snacks are, but choices are limited. Like most airlines, the prices for any of the food is quite expensive.

Unfortunately, throughout the flight, Virgin Australia did not hand out any additional snacks. The only thing included with the ticket was complimentary water, tea ,and coffee.  This was a little disappointing, as the flight was nearly 3.5 hours long, and I didn’t think Virgin Australia was considered a budget airline. You might expect that from a budget carrier like Scoot or Jetstar, but Virgin Australia brands itself as a more upmarket option and this was something they used to do. 

For this flight, we did not take up anything from the onboard menu, as we had packed our own gluten-free snacks. For anyone flying on Virgin Australia, particularly on their longer routes, it would be highly recommended to pack meals with you. Otherwise, it might be a long and hungry flight. 

Above: Virgin Australia's onboard menu at the time of flying. Gluten-free options are highlighted in yellow. To check the most-up to date version head to the Virgin Australia website.

This article was correct at time of writing, January 2025.

Other Gluten-Free Airline Reviews:

Singapore Airlines (Melbourne - Singapore): Singapore Airlines Gluten-Free Review - Melbourne to Singapore

Singapore Airlines (Singapore - Seattle): Being Gluten-free on a long-haul flight - A Singapore Airlines Gluten-Free Review

gluten-free Virgin Australia