Request the airline’s Muslim special meal before the deadline; do not wait until boarding. Korean Air generally requires a special-meal request at least 24 hours before departure and says to request at least 48 hours before a codeshare flight. Asiana requires its special meal at least 24 hours before departure on sectors where a meal is served. Check the operating carrier and repeat the check for every flight leg.
Rules checked on the official Korean Air and Asiana pages on August 6, 2026. Airline schedules, operating carriers, request channels and local catering can change. Recheck the rule shown for your current booking.
Check the operating airline before you request anything
Start with the line that says Operated by in the booking or e-ticket. A ticket can carry a KE or OZ marketing flight number while another airline operates the aircraft. Korean Air explains that airport and in-flight services on a codeshare are provided by the operating partner; Asiana gives the same practical warning for its joint flights. That operating carrier, not the logo at the top of the ticket, determines the service you need to check.
- Open the reservation and write down each origin, destination and local departure time.
- Copy both the marketing flight number and the operating airline shown for that leg.
- Use the operating airline’s special-meal rule and request channel.
- Keep outbound, connection and return legs separate; never assume one confirmation covers all of them.
What Korean Air and Asiana officially offer
| Airline | Official menu name | When to request | Request path | Important limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Korean Air | Muslim meal | At least 24 hours before departure; at least 48 hours before a codeshare flight | My Trips for an eligible Korean Air booking, or contact the airline when the itinerary requires it | Some short routes, partner flights and local catering stations can limit or substitute special meals |
| Asiana | Moslem Meal | At least 24 hours before departure on a sector with meal service | Asiana reservation center for Korea departures; regional office for overseas departures | Overseas availability can depend on local conditions; a passenger requesting a special meal cannot apply for Upgrade Standby |
Korean Air describes its Muslim meal as excluding alcohol, pork, ham, bacon, gelatin and pork by-products and as being prepared according to Islamic dietary law. Asiana describes its Moslem Meal as prepared under Islamic law without pork or alcohol. Those are the airlines’ public preparation descriptions. Neither public page identifies a third-party certifier and certificate number for every individual flight sector, so this guide does not relabel either option as a universally “halal-certified meal.”
Request Korean Air’s Muslim meal in My Trips
For an eligible Korean Air reservation, follow the airline’s published path: My Trips → Reservation/View details → Select Seat and Services → In-Flight Meals. Select the passenger, choose the special meal shown by the airline and confirm. Save the dated confirmation screen or email after hiding the passenger name, booking reference, ticket number, barcode and contact details.
The Korean Air special-meal page says a request normally must be made at least 24 hours before departure. For a codeshare it says at least 48 hours and advises contacting the airline because some items may be limited or need more preparation time. Korean Air also says the meal cannot be changed onboard after advance request, that a regular meal and special meal cannot be requested together, and that special-meal availability can vary on short routes or at overseas catering stations.
If another airline operates the segment, do not stop because the reservation has a KE number. Korean Air’s codeshare booking guide explains where to find the operating airline. Check that carrier’s own rule and confirm that the request appears in the operating carrier’s record.
Request Asiana’s Moslem Meal through the correct office
Asiana uses the exact English label Moslem Meal on its official special-meal page. Use that wording when an agent needs to find the option. Asiana says the request is available only on a sector with meal service and must be made at least 24 hours before departure. For a departure from Korea, contact the Asiana reservation center; for an overseas departure, contact the relevant regional office. Asiana also says a passenger requesting a special meal cannot apply for Upgrade Standby.
Ask the agent to read back the passenger, date, origin, destination and special-meal name for each leg. Record whether the airline system or agent acknowledged the request. Asiana notes that an overseas departure can be affected by local conditions, so an acknowledgement should be saved as evidence of the request rather than treated as proof of future loading or service.
For an OZ codeshare, check the Asiana operating-airline information. Asiana states that a partner-operated flight uses the operating carrier’s fleet, service and conditions of carriage. If the partner supplies the meal, verify the option and deadline with that partner.
Record every flight leg before you close the request
Download the Korean Air / Asiana Muslim special-meal request log (CSV). It is intentionally blank: fabricated flight examples would look like current availability. Use a random local alias instead of personal or booking data, then create one row for each flight leg and verification date. Keep any completed file private.
| Field to check | What to copy | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Flight leg | Origin, destination and local departure time | A connection or return is a different catering event |
| Marketing flight | KE or OZ number exactly as sold | It identifies the ticket display, not necessarily the operator |
| Operating carrier | The airline and flight shown after “Operated by” | Its rule and catering service control the leg |
| Meal label | The name and code only as displayed in the booking | It prevents an invented code or a different dietary meal from being recorded |
| Deadline evidence | Official URL, rule, scope and date checked | A 24-hour rule must not be copied onto a 48-hour codeshare case |
| Confirmation | Dated, redacted system or agent acknowledgement | It shows request status without exposing the passenger |
Do not enter a name, PNR, record locator, ticket number, email, phone, passport, loyalty number, seat, payment information, QR code or barcode. Do not create an alias by hashing a short PNR; generate a random identifier locally. Copy a special-meal code only if the official booking actually displays it.
A schedule change can erase the assumption
A new departure time, flight number, aircraft operator or rebooking can break the connection between an earlier request and the current leg. After any change, open the new reservation, identify the operating carrier again and confirm the special meal in that carrier’s record. Add a new verification row; do not overwrite the old evidence.
This is not a theoretical edge case. In a June 17, 2026 Asiana schedule-change notice, passengers moved to Korean Air were explicitly told to double-check special-meal requests with Korean Air. The notice is a specific disruption example, not a promise that every transfer follows the same process; it shows why reconfirmation belongs in the workflow.
Read the confirmation as a status, not a guarantee
| Status | What it supports | What to do next |
|---|---|---|
| Submitted | You sent a request through a channel | Look for an airline-system or agent acknowledgement for that leg |
| Acknowledged | The request was visible in the airline record at the check time | Save dated, redacted evidence and recheck after a change |
| Recheck required | The itinerary, flight number or operator changed | Confirm in the new operating carrier’s record |
| Unavailable or unresolved | The option was declined, missing or could not be confirmed | Prepare food that complies with airport and destination rules, or choose another option you can verify |
A recorded confirmation does not guarantee meal availability, ingredients, preparation, catering, loading or onboard delivery. It also does not prove a third-party certificate. At check-in, you can ask whether the request still appears for the exact leg, but do not wait until the airport to make the original request.
After landing, switch to the right food check
An airline request ends with the flight leg. For food in Korea, start with the halal food check guide for Muslim travelers. Use the Korean restaurant branch-and-dish check before ordering, or the exact-package evidence check for a sealed snack, sauce, ramen cup or ready meal. A special-meal acknowledgement should not be reused as evidence for an airport shop, restaurant or retail product.
Questions travelers still ask
Is the airline’s Muslim meal the same as a third-party halal certificate?
Not on the evidence published on these two public pages. Korean Air and Asiana describe how their respective meal is prepared, but the pages do not identify a certifying body, certificate number and scope for every sector. Use the airline description as an airline statement, not a certificate it does not show.
Can I rely on requesting the meal after boarding?
Do not rely on requesting it after boarding. Both airlines publish advance-request deadlines, and Korean Air says a special meal cannot be changed onboard after an advance request. Submit early enough for the applicable airline and leg.
Does one request cover the whole round trip?
Do not assume it does. Check the passenger and meal entry on every outbound, connection and return leg. Record each leg separately even when one agent handles them in the same call.
What if my ticket says KE or OZ but another airline operates the flight?
Use the operating airline shown in the booking to find the service and deadline. A marketing flight number does not establish which company caters or serves the flight.
What should I do after a schedule or operator change?
Open the changed booking, identify every current operating carrier and confirm the meal again. Save a new dated acknowledgement instead of treating the old one as current.
Make the request early, then verify the current leg
The useful sequence is short: identify the operating airline, use its official meal name and deadline, request by passenger and flight leg, save a redacted acknowledgement, and repeat the check after any itinerary change. If a required fact remains unclear, record it as unresolved and prepare a backup you can independently assess.
Source note: official Korean Air and Asiana special-meal, request and codeshare pages were checked on August 6, 2026. The evergreen policy pages did not display a visible publication date. The Asiana disruption notice is dated June 17, 2026. Recheck all rules against the operating carrier and current booking.