Mom Built A Sandwich Assembly Line On A 5-Hour Flight — Tray Tables Turned Into A Deli To Feed Her Whole Family

Passengers flying cross-country in coach brought their own food for the whole family. They built an assembly line of sandwiches to feed the group on a five hour flight.

They’ve packed deli-meat, cheese, greens and condiments for the trip. And my first thought was, why not make the sandwiches in advance? But I can sympathize with wanting to avoid soggy bread. Plus all those pre-made sandwiches for the group can get messy.

Here you see the mom using multiple open tray tables: bread laid out, fillings added, producing several sandwiches at once. We see multiple completed sandwiches and the family is clearly satisfied eating them.

Mom was worried we’d get hungry on our 5 hour flight without a meal, so she brought stuff to make us sandwiches on the plane!

Your family of six is flying from NYC to Colorado—a five-hour flight. Mom is convinced no one can survive that long without a full meal, so she boards with enough food to cater an event. Once seated, she turns the tray tables into a sandwich-making station: bread, fillings,… pic.twitter.com/9q5pkcBxqe

— TheRealCherokeeOwl (@RealCherokeeOwl) January 25, 2026

Hopefully she wiped down the surfaces of those tray tables before turning them into a commercial kitchen. The health department of the skies would like a word! Still, this mom came prepared. She’s feeding a big family, and she’s not getting served a meal by the airline.

Sandwiches at least shouldn’t have a real odor problem wafting through the cabin – the “ribs guy” problem where a passenger brought an order of “Smoky Ultimate BBQ Ribs” on board, and it came with fries and a half ear corn that was served with mayonnaisse and Italian cheese which he ate in the middle seat on his flight.

No chance is the guy next to me eating a full rack of ribs plus sides on this plane gtf pic.twitter.com/hDD9u6MlPi

— Lanna Tolland (@lannatolland) February 20, 2023

You’re generating a lot of refuse, though, with wrappers, wet wipes, bags, and crumbs. And you’re responsible for your own mess.

Here’s what I’d be most worried about: getting everything through the TSA checkpoint. Sandwiches are allowed in carry-on and checked bags. But spreadables like peanut butter, dips and sauces can be treated like liquids. TSA basically says that if the item conforms to its packaging it’s a liquid.

If you’re going to do this on your flight, here’s how I’d go about it:

• Pre-portion everything into single sandwich kits, one bag per sandwich, so assembly goes fast and contained.

• Keep wet stuff separate, and only add what’s really necessary there.

• Wipe down tray tables first.

• Avoid high odor items like onions, some cured meats, egg salad, or tuna.

• Bring a gallon zip bag to collect trash.

When you’re up in the air on a long flight, you’re on your own for sustenance mostly. For long tarmac delays airlines generally carry emergency supplies, but even those are limited. But when passengers bring on their own preferences, they can have externalities. One flight actually had to make an emergency landing due to the smell of a passenger’s fruit (durian) while on another flight the cabin crew was more creative, using coffee grounds hung from the overhead bin above a passenger eating Chick-fil-A to mask the smell.

What you really shouldn’t do is cook garilic shrimp in a Delta lavatory using a 6V battery, or cook a steak in a Delta lavatory. I’m sensing a theme here. The sandwich assembly line looks like Delta coach to me.

One passenger was even arrested for selling food inflight (it was fried grasshoppers).

Ultimately, this was way better than buying lunch at the airport. Airport restaurants are generally bad.

• Airport space is at a huge premium, you can store very little.
  
• Knives are usually chained to the wall, and inventoried between shifts.
  
• Most places are limiting to cooking with electric, not gas.
  
• You can’t just bring supplies down the airport corridors when you need them. Items need to clear security.
  
• It’s often a third party that’s engaged to do that, and it has to happen at off hours.
  
• Working with the third party can make sourcing ingredients challenging.
  
• Customers have varied tastes and need to be served quickly.
  
• Despite the high rents and challenging operating environment airports often require ‘street pricing’ (charge the same in the airport, perhaps plus 10%, versus what same item would cost on the outside).
  
• And it’s not even the restaurant that’s managing the operation, usually they are licensing the concept. Usually it’s just one company for the entire terminal. You may see their brand on uniforms or name tags, but that restaurant name you know is probably Delaware North, HMSHost or OTG.

Now, your taste buds up in the air are dulled by cabin pressurization, low humidity, and noise. For years I’ve recommended tomato juice as an onboard drink as a result, with the added benefit that it’s an excellent source of vitamin C and vodka. So consider salty foods, and interesting textures when preparing your inflight feast!