Would you eat a packet of nuts on a plane?

[Purpleturtle45]

I thought it was widely understood that you don't eat nuts on a plane. The woman next to me just cracked a packet open!

Sorry to hear about your allergy, which must make life difficult at times.

But (this is a genuine enquiry to you and any other but allergy sufferers reading), surely if you are on a flight and your allergy is such that any consumption of nuts would endanger you, you say something to the airline or the crew, so they can announce it? You don't just leave it to chance and hope nobody brings any?

I have often been in but free flights and of course always observe that, but it has honestly never occured to me that I should avoid huts on flight unless specifically asked to. And now I don't know if I should feel guilty?

I genuinely thought there would always be an announcement if it was a problem.

Sorry for all the typos. My phone seems not to like the word "nut"!

Yes I would.

I’m forever sending nuts in with the dc, I make flapjacks with peanut butter for snack. We’ve never been asked not to and as far as I am aware there are no issues. If someone with an allergy severe enough that they’d be worried started they’d send an email round to say now nut free.

I’m shocked. Why would I assume everyone is allergic every time I’m in a public place? If someone on a plane has a severe allergy they’ll alert cabin crew who will announce. But I’ve never even heard such an announcement! So why should allergens just be automatically banned? And then where does it end? Never heard of such a concept of not being allowed certain foods on the plane. Saying this as a mum whose kid has allergies. I wouldn’t expect ppl to automatically never eat those allergens on a plane! There’s no law or policy and it’s definitely not assumed!

No, whether there’s an announcement by crew or not. Even my most selfish nut loving relative doesn’t do this as he doesn’t want to risk plane being diverted ‘ruining his holiday’.

Even if not anaphylactic, allergy sufferers may vomit (on or beside you) copiously (guess how I know!!) so best avoided for everyone’s sake.

A flight I was on earlier in the year made an announcement for us not to eat nut products as someone with an allergy was onboard. I think you’re told when you can’t have them.

My son is allergic to peanuts. He has reacted (once) to a tiny amount. Thankfully on the ground and we are hyper vigilant.
This year was our first year flying with him. British Airways were amazing and put out many announcements. Thankfully his allergy is not airborne but a trace amount if ingested can put him into anaphylaxis.
On the ground this is terrifying, in the air is so much worse.
The issue with nuts vs other allergens is the way (in the main) they are consumed. Nuts are eaten with fingers and have smaller particles. A glass of milk or cheese sandwich generally won’t touch skin that is then spread around when that person is standing, opening an overhead locker or going to the toilet and using the handles.
Nuts are super cheap that’s why they are used as snacks and a major part of life in the Middle East or Asia and why we wouldn’t be on their airlines or in those Countries as the risk is too great.

Because if there's the slightest chance you could make someone ill why would you chose to? Could be someone in the flight who doesnt know they have an allergy yet. Might not even be the flight your on, could be the next one.

There are millions of snacks in the world. Why not just chose a different one to eat in an enclosed space?

It's like smoking or vaping you wouldnt do that in an enclosed space either.

I’ve been on 6 flights in the last 10 days. I was given a packet of nuts on 4 of them.

I wouldn’t eat them if we were asked not to, but if the cabin crew are handing them out then I’m assuming nobody has declared an allergy.

You clearly don't have an understanding of anaphylaxis if you're comparing it to an intolerance or a decision not to eat meat.

I would unless requested otherwise.

Nuts are a healthy alternative to UPF foods therfore a stable in my diet.

Nothing selfish or inconsiderate about that.

Also those saying announcement will be made … staff at some airlines can’t or won’t.

And a nut allergy doesn’t stay the same throughout life necessarily. People with ‘mild’ allergy may become more sensitive without warning and vomit ( a lot) or go into anaphylactic shock never having done so before. So they may not think to ask. A plane isn’t like other public spaces! You’re all kind of trapped together.

No, I don’t eat nuts at all as our son has a serious peanut allergy. He was due to start allergy therapy but he had a reaction from touching the door handle at the hospital that had been touched by the previous patient who had consumed a small amount of peanut, and the residue was on their hands. So that therapy won’t be going ahead for quite some time.

I don't buy anything containing nuts to eat on board as the majority of the time there is an announcement about a passenger with an allergy. I just buy alternatives now.

But I think the point is that dying also has a serious impact on your life, so if it's true that somebody munching a Snickers or whatever 15 rows back could kill you, as quite a few on here are suggesting is the case, then surely you'd just put up with the limitations of not flying?

I'm not being argumentative for the sake of it here, I genuinely don't understand how somebody can on the one hand think that there's a real risk of death if they/their kids share a plane with traces of nuts, but on the other think it's worth running that risk for a week in Fuerteventura. The only way I can reconcile the two (and the fact that nuts are regularly dished out by various airlines), is if the risk isn't that great in reality and the people flying aren't actually that bothered themselves.

To reiterate before anybody accuses me of being a monster: I'd never eat nuts and would check anything I did eat very carefully if the 'no nuts' message went out.

Yes, they give them out on some planes even . They announce if it’s a nut free flight (though I strongly believe they should be informing customers 48 hours ahead of the flight if it’s nut free so we don’t bring the foods onto the plane, too late once you have boarded

@Bertielong3 best never go to Spain and Portugal, they put nuts in salads and on sharing platters here, everyone is eating nuts in public!

don’t be ridiculous it’s fine to eat nuts, healthy food, but if someone has an allergy you simply don’t

They hand out a packet with every alcoholic drink from memory, so I'm sure I did get a few packets in on a 23 hour London-Melbourne trip.

Are you seriously going to double down on your argument that people shouldn't eat nuts on the plane even when the airline gives them out?

But you can't expect people not to eat nuts ever.

Airborne reactions to nuts are exceptionally rare. I would assume that if someone experiences this they would contact the airline to inform them.

Smoking in a closed space is illegal. Consuming nuts is not illegal, not airline policy and not even assumed

In mosts other countries nuts are in and on absolutely everything which is why they have lower rates of nut and legume allergy. However as western diets infiltrate many easter countries their allergy rates are increasing.

not unless it was the plane that gave me them as they always used to

@tripleginandtonicthe poster was not suggesting you did not eat nuts ever
Just not when fully aware that someone near to you in proximity (plane) would be hurt by you doing so at that time.
FFS is it that much of an on inconvenience for you?