Plan Ahead: Your Ticket to Gluten-Free Air Travel

Get to the airport hours before your flight leaves. Wade through security. Weave through the crowd to get to your gate. Store your things in the overhead compartment, and buckle up.

Hopefully, getting to the airport and on board your flight during the holidays is as uneventful as that. Will you be among the 51 million people expected to catch a flight sometime between Dec. 15 and Jan. 4?

Anytime you’re planning a trip, there’s a lot of little details you have to pay attention. And your list gets just a little bit longer if you’re gluten-free.

Why? You can’t always count on gluten-free options at airport restaurants. And while most flights have gluten-free snacks and meals, back to back flights could diminish the supply.

Here are some things you can do to navigate being gluten-free when you travel.

Call your airline ahead of time

Ask if they’ll have gluten-free snacks and meal options available on your flight. More people have a gluten allergy or are choosing to go gluten-free today, so most flights will have options.

Pack gluten-free snacks in your carry-on

Just to cover your bases, pack some gluten-free flight snacks in your carry-on. It will save you time trying to find gluten-free options in the airport. And if your flight somehow doesn’t have gluten-free food or runs out, you’ll be prepared.

You should be able to pack food like:

• A gluten-free sandwich
• Gluten-free granola
• Dried fruit
• Gluten-free nutrition bars

If you make it to the airport without any gluten-free flight snacks, you should be able to buy some at an airport store. But be prepared to pay higher prices.

Find gluten-free restaurants before you go

If you know you’ll have a long layover in an airport, or you’ll be eating out a lot when you’re on vacation, find gluten-free restaurants before you go.

It will take the stress out of living gluten-free while traveling. And it will save you time. Need help finding gluten-free options in airports? Check out this list.

Living gluten-free while traveling has it’s challenges. But when plan ahead, you shouldn’t have any problems eating clean.

And if you’re like most people, you won’t feel like cooking when you get back from vacation. So don’t. Stock up on Gluten-Free meals, and let us take care of the rest.