A UK honeymooner was left hungry on his long-haul flight home when he was served nothing but popcorn and chips for his gluten-free "meal".

James Howe had paid £500 (NZ$1000) for premium seats on the Tui flight from Cancun, Mexico to London and pre-booked his meal as he suffers from coeliac disease, meaning he can't process gluten, The Independent reported.

Howe shared a picture on social media of the small packets provided to sustain him through the more than 10-hour flight, saying: "Fabulous way to end our lovely honeymoon.

JAMES HOWE/FACEBOOK James Howe had pre-booked a gluten-free meal as he has coeliac disease.

"PEOPLE BEWARE if you book a meal 'they are subject to availability and nothing is guaranteed'. That is news to me! Customer service has brushed this off with a 'sorry', well sorry I won't be booking another holiday with you and advising anyone to go anywhere near a tui shop."

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The 39-year-old told the MailOnline that he requested gluten-free meals when he booked his flights in July. While he was served an acceptable meal on the flight to Mexico, crew on the flight back on October 18 seemed to have no record of his request and there were no other gluten-free options on board.

"As we had already taken off, there was nothing the crew could do," he said, adding that they checked the captain's meals to see if any of those were gluten-free.

"The could see how hungry I was."

A Tui spokesperson said the airline had contacted Howe to apologise and offered him "a gesture of goodwill".

In 2017, a passenger with coeliac disease went hungry on a nine-hour flight when he was served a "gluten-free" banana for breakfast.