AIBU for eating nuts next to someone with an allergy on a plane?

[PrincessJoann]

Had a bizarre situation today. I was flying from Hawaii to Florida. The stewards were walking around giving out mixed nuts.

The woman seated next to me said to the flight attendants that she didn’t want any because she is allergic to nuts and that there should’ve been a note in their system regarding not serving her nuts.

The attendant said in the survey she’d filled out for the airline regarding injury she had not indicated that it was an airborne allergy and only checked that she couldn’t ingest nuts. She stated they still shouldn’t have served them and she shouldn’t need to be that specific.

The attendants asked her if we needed to make an emergency landing or if she required medical attention. She said no.

The woman asked me if I could not eat the mixed nuts. Everyone around us had an open plastic cup of mixed nuts. I told her I wasn’t sure how my eating them or not would help her in this situation. She said it was just a courtesy.

I told her (truthfully) I hadn’t eaten at all yet and needed to have something in my stomach to take a medication. I asked her if I could go to the back of the plane to eat the nuts then come back. She sort of rolled her eyes but said this was fine.

When I came back she was complaining to the flight attendants about me and asking to be moved, specifically using the term “that asshole.”

I feel badly that I didn’t handle the situation better. AIBU?

I just wouldn’t have eaten them I’m sure there would have been other food available you could have eaten with your medication
she had no right to refer to you as an asshole though

Many outside of Europe.

Flew with China Eastern this week and got nuts. Allergies are far less common in Asian countries. As is processed food.

It seems unwise not to have completed forms better, yes I get the view of the woman with the allergy, tho planes have limited supplies, nuts prob common.
Often I take a sandwich when travelling, so if i choose to eat that on board with someone with an allergy I’m guilty of.
The best course of action is for the crew to announce someone has an allergy on board, and could they refrain

There wouldn’t have been other food available because the woman said she didn’t need there to be no nuts on the plane because her allergy wasn’t airborne. Airlines don’t routinely carry loads of different snacks, they carry what they need.

Biscuits aren’t a suitable alternative to nuts for diabetic people anyway.

Qatar airways definitely do

My son has a nut allergy and carries an Epi pen, I can’t believe you even need to ask, very selfish indeed.

BA in first

A single passenger who might die.

I don’t think anyone’s nutrition levels are going to suffer from being without nuts for a few hours.

This thread is a very sad reflection of society.

On the off chance of death. Because death is the risk you are ultimately playing with. For the sake of not simply picking an alternative snack.

I really miss the nuts, I can't eat the pretzels they give out now as they're always onion flavoured (IBS), same with the meals as always have garlic/onion in. Was told I needed a doctors note to get different food though which would cost more than the food!

I'm pretty sure all research has shown that nut allergies aren't airborne anyway, the risk comes from people touching their trays after someone on there has eaten nuts and touched the tray - so the woman had probably had someone eating nuts and touching her tray on the previous flight which would have been much more of a risk to her if they had not been cleaned.

www.aaaai.org/allergist-resources/ask-the-expert/answers/old-ask-the-experts/peanut-air-travel

But then on the other hand it was for the cabin crew to take back the nuts, they didn't deem the woman's allergy a risk so why would the OP?

It's really not, absolutely no evidence to say that people can have severe reactions to airborne peanut particles. Do some research - and I say that as someone with a relative with a severe nut allergy who would flare up very badly if he touched a school desk that someone had previously touched after eating peanuts.

I know a huge amount about nut allergies myself through lived experience.

i grew up in a household with a sibling with a nut allergy, and I have a young child with a nut allergy. I have spent large amounts of time with top specialists over 30 odd years.

People were much more accommodating when I was a child. Now people feel entitled to everything and have huge reactions if they are asked to even slightly inconvenience themselves. Like the whole what about my right to eat nuts?! I can’t be deprived of my right to eat nuts for a few hours!

If my young child has a nut reaction mid air she could literally die before the plane has a chance to land. And people eating nuts on planes touching arm rest & toliet handles etc greatly increases that risk.

Not all nut allergies are deadly. They certainly can be but some are mild. I say that as a mum to a kid with a mild nut allergy, and an epi pen we hope to never use.

True but the point is the some nut allergies can be. Even if it’s only a small number it is still some people.

And as someone who has had to use an EpiPen on a small child, Id rather not have to do it again because someone else couldn’t manage another snack other than nuts for a matter of hours.

I had to sit with a young child in A&E for 6 hours after giving her the EpiPen on the advice of a GP as apparently it is protocol.

But people on this thread will say no big deal as she didn’t die.

You can have anaphylaxis with allergies to other things... should we also completely ban milk from planes?

If someone can die from contact with nuts then it is on them to inform the airline.
It is then up to the airline to confirm, or not, whether they can accommodate that. Including of course cleaning all surfaces before anyone enters the plane.

I would say it is up to the affected passenger to make the airline aware beforehand and not make impositions on others once they are already on the plane.

If their is any likelihood of death surely it’s up to the sufferer to do absolutely everything to prevent it. Even if it means choosing a different airline, wearing gloves when they touch surfaces, a mask, whatever

Lactose intolerance is a different medical condition. Doesn’t kill, usually bad stomach upset. Peanuts can kill.
It seems some posters have no conscience & wouldn’t be concerned about being the cause of a fellow passenger’s death. Scary.

You can have an anaphylaxis allergy to anything, including dairy. Not just lactose intolerance.

People have died from contact with dairy products as well.

Totally agree.

If I had deadly reactions I’d find another way to get around.

Even if the airline banned nuts, some one easily could contaminate surfaces if they recently had a meal etc.

Here's a question I have wondered about?
You know they ask people not to eat nuts?
What about thee also and snacks they serve on the plane?
,Have they checked all those?

You should have asked for a different snack