Airline meal vouchers 'almost insulting' as airport food prices soar, say passengers and experts

Airlines are handing out $10 and $15 meal vouchers during delays — but many stranded passengers say the amount barely covers the cost of a snack at most airports.

Social media posts are filled with complaints from airline passengers stuck for hours without a meaningful meal benefit to offset the disruption in their flights.

"Delayed 8 hours from Las Vegas to MSP [Minneapolis-St. Paul] because [the airline didn't] have a pilot," one X user wrote in a recent complaint.

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The traveler added, "What a joke. Then you send a $15 food voucher to people. That doesn't buy a water and a bag of chips."

Another user said a seven-hour delay derailed a day of vacation.

"And a $12 food voucher is not going to cut it," the user added.

A third commenter wrote of a five-hour delay, "All they gave me was a $15 food voucher."

Frequent traveler and public relations executive Jason Mudd, who is based in Florida, said he's noticed more delays and cancellations since the COVID-19 pandemic — and said the vouchers often arrive too late to be useful.

"My biggest frustration with the meal vouchers is that by the time you finally receive [them], often an hour or more later, you've already eaten and moved on with your day," he said.

He also said vouchers offer little value to frequent flyers who already have access to airport lounges.

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"And those meal vouchers typically expire that same day," he added. "So often, meal vouchers aren't very helpful." 

He recalled that airline responses once felt more generous.

"One of the first times [my wife and I] flew as newlyweds, a Delta representative met us at the gate and handed us meal vouchers, prepaid calling cards and a credit toward a future trip," he recalled. 

"That type of old-school VIP service certainly created a memorable experience."

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Flight disruptions are "marketing opportunities" for airlines, said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst in California — and they would be wise to keep passengers happy.

"An airline that treats disruptions as an opportunity to soften the blow for its customers … will find itself benefiting in the long run, because travelers will feel they were taken care of better than expected," Harteveldt told Fox News Digital. "And it might help encourage those travelers to consider flying that airline again."

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Harteveldt said whether passengers receive vouchers often depends on the circumstances.

"It's discretionary," he said, adding that gate agents are often limited in what they can offer.

But what's certain is that $10 won't cover the cost of a meal at most major airports, Harteveldt noted — and vouchers can add frustration when they're limited to certain vendors or expire that day.

"I can't imagine anything less than $15 coming close to covering the cost, and it probably would need to be $20 at some of these major airports," he said. 

No federal laws require airlines to provide meal vouchers during delays, he said.

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"What the airline is going to tell you … is that it's not intended to necessarily cover the full cost of your meal. It's intended to defray some of the cost."

He said that airport food has always been more expensive, as the rent to operate stalls and restaurants is often on the higher end — but said airlines' thin profit margins shouldn't dictate how they treat stranded passengers.

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"The discussions are almost insulting when it comes to how they view the passengers at most airlines," he said.

He cautioned airline finance teams against cutting voucher values, arguing that goodwill can drive long-term customer loyalty.

"What airline finance teams need to understand is that when they're stingy with vouchers ... it does nothing to make a traveler feel good about that airline," Harteveldt said.

"But if you do a good job taking care of a customer, it can encourage customers to share that good experience on their social media accounts. And there are people who do."

Fox News Digital reached out to Airlines for America, a trade group representing major U.S. carriers, for comment.