Nut allergy on plane

131 replies

HomeCookingWannabe · 07/03/2025 22:38

I've been on a plane today. At the airport I bought Pret's choc almond cookie as a treat. We get on the plane and they say don't eat anything with nuts in as someone severely allergic.

So I didn't, because i'm not a dk and I want to keep someone alive.

But if said allergy person is worried about airborne transmission, surely the cookie sitting there for the 4 hour flight is worse than if i'd eaten it and it was in my tummy? It doesn't seem to make sense to me.

AIBU in thinking it's a load of nonsense?

OP posts:

JaceLancs · 07/03/2025 23:03

I am gluten n dairy free plus fodmapping due to IBS so very little I can eat
On a recent flight I couldn’t eat anything as the snack I’d taken had nuts n there was someone on flight with a nut allergy
Good job Prosecco n gin was still available!
I am very used to it and unless long haul I can manage without food or drink to help others

AnotherDelphinium · 07/03/2025 22:59

I read quite an interesting article recently that highlighted the airborne risk of nuts/peanuts on a plane was pretty much zero, and instead they should allow those with severe allergies to board first and do a deep clean of their seat/tray etc.

Essentially the current air filtration is so good, but the turnaround times tend to mean individual seats get nothing more than a cursory wipe, so if the previous passenger ate an entire bag of nuts on that seat, it poses a much bigger risk.

Adventitiouslungsounds · 07/03/2025 22:58

I feel like the whole nut free thing on a plane is a bit of a false economy.

Who is to say that the person sitting in your seat on the previous flight, didn't have a peanut butter sandwich. Those planes aren't cleaned and sanitised anywhere near enough in-between flights to reduce the risk of contamination.

Starryknightcloud · 07/03/2025 22:52

Thanks for being considerate, as other say once it's broken up and on your hands etc it's going to spread around more than in a bag.
It's awful flying with a child with a severe allergy so thank you for making it easier.

fretaway · 07/03/2025 22:42

No because if it’s in a bag it’ll be contained. Once you get it out and it’s broken up nut proteins are then dispersed into the air.

FlatWhite78 · 07/03/2025 22:40

What? The allergens in the cookie (assuming you’d kept it in some sort of packaging) wouldn’t become airborne. If you ate it and started getting crumbs etc everywhere then that’s a different story.

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