Nut allergy on plane

[HomeCookingWannabe]

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?

@notimagain They made the announcement 6 times yesterday, so obviously taking it very seriously

No experience as I never fly with an airline that gives out free snacks, but that's a bit daft. Would make sense for airlines to not stock nut based snacks at all. I've not really considered it much, but I have been on a few flights where they've given that announcement so it makes sense for people to generally avoid taking foods with nuts in on a plane .

From a purely selfish angle, I can think of few things worse than being trapped on a plane while someone else's child has an anaphylactic reaction to nuts. I would find it hugely upsetting and, I'm not joking, it would probably, in some ways, ruin my holiday. I can recall the medical emergencies I've witnessed - epileptic seizures, heart attacks, even public vomiting and fainting. It's not nice, and god knows how much worse it must be for the family.
Not eating a Snickers bar on a flight is such an easy ask, can't understand people who object to doing a small thing to avoid a potential disaster, however small the probability.

@HomeCookingWannabe

They obviously were, what exactly was said will have probably been down to company policy (it’s often scripted) and no doubt run past the lawyers.. especially if it was a UK airline….

All the one’s I’ve heard over the years have been an “ask”, albeit in a firm manner..

Is there any way that allergy sufferers can inform the airlines in advance of the gate, ideally when booking, of their needs so that fellow passengers get mouth more warning? If not airlines should definitely sort this out.

If we have a nut free flight announcement we do our best to adhere to it but that won’t be in time to have stopped us eating nuts prior to boarding the flight at breakfast, or in the airport. A warning as early as possible (prior to leaving home) would definitely help.

For a bit of context, the PDF document embedded here might be worth a read:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213219823007985

It’s worth being aware the airlines are highly data driven and will have looked long and hard at the incidence of episodes, risk of diversions etc, when forming their policies on nuts on board……

@GCAcademic I've seen assorted chocolates (boxes, tins, plastic tubs...you know the ones) in nut free environments or perhaps I should say environments I thought were nut free.

You would think you could wouldn't you? But, no, it's impossible. We have tried and tried but EVERY airline we have ever flown with has responded with the instruction that we inform the crew upon boarding (not even at the gate, but upon actual boarding) that our son is allergic to peanuts. It's not good enough.

I’m not diabetic but get hypoglycaemia, managed through careful diet. Following medical advice, I manage the attacks with juice, followed by crackers (for carbs) with fat and protein - cheese is perfect. However, when I’m out and about and not carrying a wheel of Brie with me, I always have nuts, they’re the next best thing. I would never eat them if asked not to but for those of us who need a portable high fat/high protein emergency snack there are remarkably few options

My DD is allergic to peanuts. We usually fly easyJet and inform them when booking about the allergy but they only ever make announcements when we are on the plane.

I find it very strange that some people can’t go without their nuts for the duration of a flight.

(Have some crisps/chips/pringles instead).

Is it the cult of individualism? ‘My rights are paramount, and your rights are not my concern.’ It’s very Trump-like.

And it is not going to work in the end.

That's why people with nut allergies are allowed to board first. As a parent of a child with a nut allergy, I board first with cleaning wipes and clean the table etc.
I know people with severe allergies who actually sit on a blanket incase anything is spilt on the seat.

@Muchtoomuchtodo why dont you just assume the announcement will be made and not bring nuts with you (or food containing nuts) just in case?

When we fly the announcement is made but we always assume there will be people who dont listen, cant hear or wont abide by it. We seat DS at the window and clean all the seats in the row including all around the window and seatbelt. DS doesnt leave his seat, he uses the bathroom before boarding. He only eats snacks we bring. That is the best way for us to control is environment and prevent DS touching a surface with peanut residue which is a greater risk than an airborne protein.
we get very strange looks from passengers when we do the clean, I suspect they think I have a germ phobia!
For people who are worried about causing a reaction if they have already eaten a nut product, try to clean your hands so you dont leave traces on the surfaces you touch.
ps planes are filthy

I think that's why people with severe allergies are allowed to board early so they can wipe down the area they are sitting in.

I’ve only ever been on one flight where this request has been made.

As a household that is lucky enough to not have any allergy suffers I don’t check labels of what any of us eat at home, at the hotel before we check in or at the airport. If the request is made on the plane then we abide by it, but restricting ourselves for hours in advance on the off chance feels like complete overkill.

If airlines could inform other passengers in advance, it would be really useful.

My DH has a severe peanut allergy which causes anaphylaxis when ingested. Your cookie being wrapped inside packaging, which is then in your bag is not a problem. However it's different when someone is opening a bag of peanuts and eating it openly, leaving traces on their hands and seats, and releasing the nut traces into the air.

When airborne, DH's face and eyes burns and goes red, and his throat becomes itchy. Not anaphylactic but still not a pleasant experience.

All the people saying this announcement should be made in advance, it would be utterly pointless. There's no guarantee that the person with the allergies will even make the flight.

Why would an airline give themselves even more work when people don't even read the existing (legal) t&c's as it is. How many of you know that it's actually an offence to be drunk on board an aircraft? I guess not many as you don't read the terms and conditions of carriage.

The most effective way of announcing a nut allergy is definitely once the person is actually on the flight. This ensures that it is fresh in everyone's memory and more people are likely to comply.

Pre warning passengers definitely isn’t bombproof. You’re right that the allergy sufferer may miss the flight, or someone flying standby may have severe allergies, but surely those instances are less common than people with known allergies making the flight that they have booked?

For a passenger to be able to add these details to the booking, and airlines flagging it up on the app when passengers check in, and to any pre flight emails that are sent would surely be useful?

They can still announce it on the plane.

Just means that someone would bring a jam sandwich not a peanut butter one, or a kit kat not a snickers, or crisps not nuts.

I know this is MN and a lot of people hate numbers, I also accept if this is a problem that effects your family you’ll have strong views on this, but it maybe worth looking back at the medical doc I linked to upthread, if the full document makes the eyes glaze over then at least look at the conclusion in the précis:

”Conclusions

Allergic reactions coded as IMEs during commercial air travel are uncommon, occurring at an incidence approximately 10 to 100 times lower than that reported for accidental allergic reactions to food occurring in the community.”

That’s been achieved in a public transport environment and is down to a variety of factors including the existing protocols put in place by the airlines and the sort of individual/family precautions mentioned by some posters upthread.

So the question to my mind is how much lower would the incidence have to be to satisfy some posters?

A lot of what goes on in aviation and safety is about accepting that if you actually want to travel by air you have to accept you can’t remove all the risk, you have to do the best you can to manage the incidence of undesirable events down to an acceptable level….

That’s why parents of nut allergy sufferers will wipe down the entire seats before they let the kid sit there.

if someone has an anaphylactic reaction and it’s not fatal it’s a hell of a lot for a body to go through- probably comparable with a heart attack.

In terms of your flying experience, any kind of anaphylactic reaction will see your aircraft diverted to the nearest airport/hospital.

I’m sure for the sake of not eating nuts for a few hours that’s preferable to avoid all of that both for allergy sufferer AND the rest of the passengers.

The difference with train/bus/classroom is the time it takes to get medical attention. Buses and trains can be stopped easily and air ambulance’s brought in. Not easy to stop an airplane over the Atlantic Ocean.

I couldn’t possibly get onto a plane and expect an announcement be made that everyone has to discard snacks just to fit in with our personal circumstances, I just couldn’t. Lots of snacks will state ‘may contain nut traces’ simply as a precaution so the risk is low. If it’s really a matter of life or death I wouldn’t fly.

Like I said. Airlines seem to struggle to get people to read the LEGAL t&c's and rules, so I very much doubt they will pay attention to a strangers nut allergy, or even care.

I can imagine Airlines don't already do this as it would be a wasted exercise and most likely, no one would acknowledge it.

People can't even bring the correct sized bags despite the multiple notifications at booking check-in, boarding passes and travel confirmation emails. I doubt a pre flight announcement of nuts will be paid attention to.

Also, where do they draw the line? A pp has quoted that there's even more reactions to dairy etc. Everyone would be absolutely hounded with "notices" if everyone's medical issues were taken into account. There's no top trumps when it comes to medical needs. Despite what those with nut allergies might think (I am one of them).

An announcement at boarding is more than enough and absolutely the best way to get the most people to comply.

I have a nut allergy, notified the airlines at the time of booking. Not once have I been allowed to board early to wipe anything down.

How effective do you think an antibac/antiviral wipe is with removing traces of nuts? I can assure you it's false economy and you are just spreading the traces around, not removing them.