Food that smelled like “stinky socks” served on a Virgin Australia flight flying from Perth to Adelaide on Christmas Day reportedly caused some passengers to vomit.
The culprit was allegedly the odorous parmesan cheese served as a complimentary snack inside of a bread roll, the Daily Mail reports.
A passenger said the cheese was so smelly, some were forced to throw up while still in their seats.
“I love cheese along with the best of us, however, when sitting in an enclosed space, with a low roof, over the length of 40ft, with not a window to open, and with seating capacity of over 100 passengers, parmesan Cheese was probably not your brightest choice,” remarked one female passenger of the incident on Virgin Australia’s Facebook page.
“A whole aircraft smelling like stinky socks did not make for a pleasant flight,” she added.
The woman continued, recalling how the passenger in the seat next to her – who suffered from motion sickness – remained sick for at least two of the five hour-long flight.
“I am fortunate enough not to suffer such an affliction, but after hearing her wrenching and burping, mixed in with the lingering wafting smell of old socks took every strength of effort not to go out in sympathy with her,” remarked the woman.
While the woman thanked them for their “lovely gesture of giving us a complimentary roll n snack with a coffee” on Christmas day, she advised they never serve the cheese again.
Virgin Australia apologized to the customer.
“Sorry to hear it was a bit of a sensory overload getting to Adelaide – Parmesan cheese being the culprit,” a spokesperson responded on their Facebook page. “I’ll certainly pass on your feedback to our catering crew and I hope you are still able to face a nice bowl of minestrone in the future.”
Later, the company made a separate statement to the Daily Mail Australia.
“We do apologize that this particular sandwich filling caused a sensory overload and we have let our caterers know of this feedback,” they said. “‘We also sincerely apologize to any guests who did not have an enjoyable journey with us and we wish them a Merry Christmas.”
Sources: Daily Mail and Virgin Australia/Facebook/Photo Credit: YSSYguy at English Wikipedia via Wikimedia Commons
