‘You Can’t Order Just Coffee’: IndiGo Flyer Left Confused By In-Flight Snack Rule, Airline Responds; See Viral Post

An IndiGo passenger shared a post on X and claimed she was not allowed to order just a cup of coffee during a flight and was instead required to pair the beverage with a snack under the airline’s revised onboard service policy.

The incident surfaced after X user Ritu Joon shared a photograph from her IndiGo flight showing a cup of coffee served alongside a small tin of nuts. 

In her post, Joon explained that she often drinks coffee while flying to stay awake during travel, but a recent interaction with cabin crew left her puzzled.

“Whenever I travel by flight, I usually order coffee to avoid feeling sleepy. But yesterday, something strange happened,” she wrote.

Whenever I travel by flight, I usually order coffee to avoid feeling sleepy. But yesterday, something strange happened.

I ordered a coffee, and the air hostess asked, “Which munchies would you like with it?” 

I said, “Just coffee is fine.”

But she replied, “You can’t order… pic.twitter.com/3onJa3JEPU

— Ritu Joon (@ritujoon2j) May 28, 2026

According to Joon, after she ordered coffee, a flight attendant asked which “munchies” she would prefer with the beverage. Assuming the snack was optional, she clarified that she only wanted coffee.

However, she claimed the crew member informed her that passengers were no longer allowed to order coffee by itself and had to select a snack alongside it.

“I was surprised,” she wrote, while questioning whether IndiGo had quietly rolled out a new onboard rule making snacks mandatory with beverage purchases.

IndiGo clarifies

Responding to the viral post, IndiGo clarified that the airline had recently revamped its in-flight food and beverage services. The response indicated that certain beverages are now bundled with snack items as part of combo-style offerings instead of being sold separately under specific service categories.

Ms Joon, thank you for your time over the call. We would like to inform you that we have revamped our services, and our complimentary beverage service is offered alongside any snack order. This is part of our commitment to providing an enhanced in-flight experience for all our…

— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) May 28, 2026

The clarification, however, only intensified the discussion online.

Several social media users criticised the arrangement, arguing that forcing passengers to buy food they may not want just to get a beverage makes the idea of a “complimentary” add-on feel misleading.

Others responded with sarcasm, jokingly asking whether passengers craving only snacks would now also be compelled to purchase drinks.