Passenger claims chicken served in ‘veg’ momos at Mumbai airport’s Wow! Momo

A serious food safety complaint has surfaced against Wow! Momo, a popular quick-service restaurant located at Mumbai International Airport Terminal 2 (T2). A passenger recently took to LinkedIn to express outrage over an alarming experience involving a mix-up between vegetarian and non-vegetarian food orders, an error that she described as not just a service lapse but a “serious breach of food safety and customer trust.”

The passenger detailed that she had ordered two plates of steamed momos, one vegetarian and one non-vegetarian. However, her experience quickly spiraled into a complete disaster. 

She was initially told both plates were non-vegetarian and had to show the bill to prove otherwise. Instead of steamed momos, she was served fried ones. Most shockingly, while eating what was labelled the vegetarian plate, she discovered it contained chicken.

“I immediately spat it out,” she wrote, highlighting the potential consequences such a mistake could have on people with religious, ethical, or health-based dietary restrictions.

According to the post, when she raised the issue with the outlet’s manager, she was casually offered a refund or a replacement veg plate, responses she felt lacked seriousness, accountability, or empathy.

“At an international airport, where we pay premium prices, this kind of casual, careless, and dangerous behaviour is completely unacceptable,” the post concluded.

This incident has sparked concern over the quality controls and staff training standards at airport food outlets, especially in high-security, international terminals where expectations for hygiene, safety, and professionalism are particularly high.

This incident isn’t an isolated one. Across several major Indian airports, passenger complaints about food quality, hygiene standards, and untrained staff are on the rise. With millions of travellers moving through high-traffic terminals daily, airport restaurants and kiosks are under increasing pressure, yet lapses in staff training, quality control, and food labelling protocols are leading to a growing number of dissatisfied and frustrated customers.

Some of the recent feedback across social platforms and consumer forums has highlighted:

• Undercooked or mislabeled meals
• Incorrect dietary classifications (veg/non-veg confusion)
• Poor hygiene and sanitation at high-end food courts
• Casual handling of complaints with minimal managerial responsibility.

Experts say that in a premium travel environment like international airports, where food outlets charge high prices and such incidents reflect a systemic gap in training, supervision, and accountability. 

As of now, Wow! Momo has not issued a public statement addressing the incident; however, the Mumbai Airport has responded to the complaint stating that they will ‘Look into the matter’ and ‘thanked’ the passenger for the feedback. However, the post has triggered a broader conversation about the need for robust regulatory mechanisms to ensure food safety and customer care at India’s fast-growing aviation hubs.