to think it's nuts to serve nuts on an aeroplane?

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www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2787807/british-airways-denies-request-not-serve-nuts-flight.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

and to hope that someone knows why airlines persist in doing this?

also AIBU to wonder if someone is really going to post saying "yabu, what if I get peckish?"

People will say that it's their right to eat what they want whilst travelling.

Ds1 has a severe nut allergy and the airline told us there would be no nuts on our flight, but it was just bullshit because, when the trolley went round, there were packets of nuts on it.

I just had to cross my fingers and make sure the Epipen was within easy reach.

I understand why people don't want nuts on flights, but it would be very hard to police.

OK, don't serve them, but you would also need to make sure that passengers had been instructed not to bring nuts on the flight and that they all obeyed the instruction which is obviously impossible.

Have there been any recorded incidences of allergic passengers suffering a reaction due to nut vapours in the cabin air? (Genuine question BTW, I'm not being snippy).

There are plenty of other snack foods available, so no-one is going to starve.

I'm surprised they have them. I do enjoy them with my in flight vino plonko though. Small bags of a nut free mini cheddar type snack would be better all round one would think.

Have there been any recorded incidences of allergic passengers suffering a reaction due to nut vapours in the cabin air? (Genuine question BTW, I'm not being snippy).

yes, a young girl on an easyjet flight. cabin crew announced no nuts allowed as girl had serious allergy. a man (who ahs now been banned from the airline for 2 years) was told 3 times to not open a bag of nuts he had on his tray but did so anyway. The vapours circulating the cabin sent her into anap shock.

Did he need nuts that bad, what's wrong with crisps, pretzels? Selfish twat.

There's not enough info in that article. Did this father give any notification of his daughters allergy before boarding the flight, or did he just get on the plane and then expect the snacks that were planned to be served not to be? Maybe they didn't have anything else available to give out as their complimentary snacks. Maybe there is something else we don't know, airlines don't suddenly just offload passengers for no reason.

I can understand why airlines don't guarantee nut free flights. Even when they don't serve nuts, people can and do bring their own.

I flew with Easy Jet and had no problems, told to remind cabin crew as soon as we boarded. They requested passengers not to eat any and none were on sale.

I appreciate that planes pose particular problems but what about trains and long distance coaches? You cannot tell people what cold and non-smelly food they may and may not bring with them.

I flew with Easy Jet and had no problems

Now there's a first

Andrew I would assume its because, not being pressurized, you don't have the same air re-circulating in the same way? Also easier to get someone off a train and into ambulance when you're not mid-air!

Perhaps the issue is a general ban, rather than a request to not eat nuts when there is someone with an allergy present. Also a genuine question, why ban peanut butter sandwiches from school lunch boxes if there are no known cases of peanut allergy in the school?

Incidentally, they were banned in primary, but there's no ban in secondary.

I was on an EasyJet flight too and we were told the same thing.

It didn't bother me at all. I'd rather I didn't eat the nuts and know that the person on the flight with the allergy had a very low chance of getting a reaction.

Easyjet have always been great about announcing a nut ban when we've flown with them. (DD severely allergic to peanuts.)

Anaphylaxis at 30,000 feet is a slightly different thing from anaphylaxis on a motorway / train track.

I don't know a single reason why somebody has to have nuts to ensure they are safe.

When up in the air if something serious happens then unless a doctor is on the plane nothing can be done.

Any other mode of transport can be stopped and an air ambulance sent.

I wouldn't have a problem with refraining from nuts even on a long haul flight.

We flew to the US with Iceland Air - they made an announcement, checked that no nuts were served as snacks and brought us a list of the ingredients for the in flight meals so we could check for nuts.
They advised that they couldn't guarantee a 100% nut free flight, which we understood, but they did their best. Now they are my first choice of airline, with the added benefit of stopovers in Iceland :)

Just to add, I bet passengers with be a lot more inconvenience with an unscheduled stop.

Indeed, and having your holiday flight disrupted so the airline staff could deal with a dead body would somewhat dampen your enjoyment I suspect.....

I think people can do without nuts for a flight, but what about products that are made in a factory that is not nut free that passengers may bring on? Are they a risk, too?

I ask because there a some airlines that don't feed passengers much even on long haul without passengers having to purchase food (United), and it is more economical to bring one's own food on. Is there a risk to others if store bought but may have been made in a non-nut free factory?

Tbh this is a hard one as even if the airline staff dont serve nuts how do they stop passengers from eating their own. Yes they can announcement but you cant know if a everyone has heard (my dad is deaf but he hates nuts and doesnt fly but he cant hear instructions) and b they think it doesnt matter and eat their nuts anyway. Dealing with a medical situation in air is alot worse than on a train or car.

We were told we were on a nut free flight once and then after about an hour they pushed the trolley up the aisle and sold snickers.
I understand that airlines can't police what people bring on but surely it vastly reduces the amount of circulating allergen to have a few people with nuts than every single passenger (plus the nuts people have brought on).

I'm not bothered about trains. The air isn't recirculated and you don't have the same pressure difference between the inside and outside of the bag.

Take your point about trains but the Eurostar is sealed off from the outside world. Not sure if they offer peanuts, does anybody know?

Nope, still don't get what the problem is...... If there are ten cases of peanut-related shock a year, why not reduce it by not handing out packets of the bloody things. Sure, someone might bring their own - but you'd still massively reduce the risk and what's more you'd change the culture - if the airline didn't hand them out, I'd think twice about picking up a packet of Brazil nuts at duty free.

As for the article, I'm quite sure the dad completely lost his temper. As you do when you identify a threat to your child's life and no-one seems interested....

I think you can get someone off the Eurostar into the rescue tunnel?

With the prevalence of nut allergies these days I do think its crazy. Certainly in this part of the world many people would be as happy with a little packet of crisps or pretzels. I seldom eat peanuts, though I do like them - the only time I ever seem to eat them is on a plane!!! Okay so people might bring them on and that's a whole different issue but to actually serve them when airborne allergies are surprisingly common just seems unnecessary!

The Eurostar isn't airtight, nor is the air re-circulated, nor is the air pressure in the train below atmospheric pressure and the underground portion of the journey is only about 15/20 minutes.