Qantas pork ban after Emirates deal sparks boycott vow on Facebook Pork is off the menu on all Qantas flights stopping in Dubai. QANTAS has brushed aside negative and racist comments over its decision to take pork off the menu for flights that stopover in Dubai on the way to and from Europe. The new menu's architect, Sydney chef Neil Perry, also said the menu change "shows off the great multiculturalism that Australia has." The official Qantas fan page on Facebook yesterday received a number of complaints from people refusing to fly with the airline after it changed its in-flight menu in keeping with the Islamic religion. Administrators of the site were also forced to remove at least five Facebook threads because of racial abuse. Each thread contained as many as 10 comments. A Qantas spokesman refused to respond directly to the online criticism and said there has been only positive feedback. "Our customers tell us that one of the things that sets Qantas apart from other airlines is our high quality in-flight meals," he said. Feedback from customers who have flown on Qantas to and from Dubai and experienced the in-flight meals has been excellent. Qantas flies to every continent around the world and our on board catering is tailored to meet the differing tastes and cultures to each city that we fly to. Chef and Rockpool group owner Neil Perry was behind the menu change and said it is a way of forging a "deeper relationship." It shows off the great multiculturalism that Australia has. It's easy for me to blend dishes from around the world that I have seen in the great restaurants of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane," he said. The local produce is awesome too. One of the things we really wanted to do was to make this a deeper relationship than just ground facilities and frequent flyer points and I think through food is the way to do it. Perry said the exclusion of pork products and alcohol, both considered against the teaching of Islam, did not have a big impact on his business as it was only one major flight a day from Sydney. He has already created special dishes for Qantas customers flying in and out of Muslim-dominated destinations including Jakarta. The changes were made as part of the airline's partnership with Middle Eastern Airline Emirates and affect six flights a day between Australia and Europe. These flights now stopover at Dubai instead of Singapore. All other domestic and international flights are unchanged. Perry's dishes are created by third-party caterers in Sydney and Dubai and include economy class meals of baby cos salad with tomato, cucumber and cheese, and chicken blanquette with spinach linguine and carrots. In business class, customers can get seared sea bass with braised fennel and warm zucchini salad, or Arabian lamb with spiced almond rice, artichokes and capsicum.