Diwali in the air: Emirates serve Indian sweets and Etihad surprise Abu Dhabi travellers

Traditional Indian sweets and Bollywood entertainment are on the menu at Emirates while Etihad is handing out Diwali boxes in the capital

Travellers flying with Emirates to or from India can tuck into traditional Diwali sweets onboard. Courtesy Emirates 

Flying with Emirates this Diwali? Then get ready to celebrate the festival of lights in the air.

Economy, business and first-class passengers will be able to tuck in to traditional sweets on all Emirates flights flying to and from India until Thursday, October 31.

Passengers flying in economy can enjoy silver leaf garnished motichoor laddu, a traditional dessert made from tiny deep-fried balls of flour simmered in cardamom and saffron-flavoured sugar syrup.

Business class flyers can feast on a festive dessert concocted from cashew, pistachio fudge and dried fruit topped with silver leaf.

Elsewhere, Emirates frequent flyers or business and first-class passengers accessing the airline's lounges in Dubai, Delhi, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Kuala Lumpur will also have special Diwali treats.

From Delhi International Airport, lounge customers can tuck into an assortment of traditional Indian sweets while in Dubai, there will be mini Punjabi samosas and dal kachori snacks. For dessert there’s angoori rabdi, a sweet milky pudding.

In South Africa, both Cape Town and Johannesburg are getting in on the Diwali action with Emirates lounges in both airports serving the milk-based barfi and jalebi, a deep-fried pretzel-shaped sweet dipped in sticky sugar syrup. There will also be nankhatai shortbread on offer.

Travellers flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport can tuck into traditional biryani and chapatti.

Passengers can also catch a host of Diwali-themed entertainment on-board Emirates flights with Bollywood movies like Uri and popular Indian TV shows such as Koffee with Karan on the agenda.

Etihad surprises passengers at Abu Dhabi airport

Emirates isn't the only UAE airline to get in the Diwali spirit.

Etihad Airways had staff at Abu Dhabi airport on Saturday, October 26 handing out special Diwali boxes to travellers.

Containing traditional Indian sweets, the boxes – which also lit up with a candle-shaped light – were handed out to passengers in the capital as part of the airline's festival of lights celebrations.