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!

Yes. There is no evidence that a nut allergy can be airborne.

I don't but then I don't eat nuts often anyway. There are other chocolates I prefer to peanut M&Ms. On out last flight back from Morocco there was an announcement about a person with a nut allergy on board and no nut containing products were sold on the flight.

But if someone has an allergic reaction in a bakery it’s easier to get them in an ambulance.

We were served warmed nuts with a glass of champagne on boarding on our flight last week. If the crew are serving them, I assume there is no problem. No announcement was made about passengers with nut allergies.

I was on a plane recently where as we boarded the flight there was an announcement saying please do not open any nuts on this flight as there is a passenger with a severe allergy. Fine. On other flights I’ve been served nuts as a snack with a drink, so I’d assume that anyone with an allergy would make it known to the airline, and if there isn’t an announcement it’s fine to eat nuts.

Pretzels and crackers could have a massive effect on anyone with coeliac disease or an allergy to wheat though.

I fly at least 1 return flight a week, do an ultra long haul every 3 months and have done for about 15 years. I’ve just returned from two weeks away again ultra long haul and flew 8 sectors with 5 different airlines across three continents. I have never heard an announcement on a plane about not eating nuts.

As mentioned before nut allergies are not the main cause of allergy death in the UK - it's milk.

That’s just not true for adults. Not even close to true.

It is true for children, but only because peanuts, tree nuts and unidentified nuts are given separate groupings in the stats.
I posted this figure upthread but will do so again. It’s UK figures. Just click on the image to enlarge.

They have nut m and ms on the Ryan air trolley thing unless it’s announced there is a nut allergy on board (frequent flyer(

Someone eats nuts on a flight, they then get up to use the toilet, touching the handles, toilet roll, tap. its not just about them being airborne.

I fly twice a week every week and have only once heard an announcement asking people not to eat nuts.

BA serve nuts with drinks in business class.

Yes, I would, without hesitation.
Unless I was made aware that there is someone close who suffers from allergy.

its a myth that nuts are an airbourne allergy, nut dust is very heavy , the worse case senario is that someone eats nuts, touches something then the allergic person then touches it , and it transfers to their hands and then food, but even then it is considered really rare. My DS and DH have nut and seed allergies and we dont avoid nuts in their vicinity. Sesame seeds for DH is more of a problem as they seem to get everywhere in a bakery but thankfully tend to be very visible.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12013556/

The only person i know who has had anaphylaxis on a plane was actually allergic to penacillin. He had a cheese sandwich and had a reaction to what they thought could be the cheese having mould on it.

Eh?

Yep they were selling them on our flight last week.

Yes i would.

Its only this year that I've heard of not eating nuts on a plane, and i heard that from MN.

Saying that, I haven't been on a flight where they've made an announcement not to eat nuts either, so it really crossed my mind.

Nuts are a large part of many diets and a great source of nutrition.

I am not dismissing the seriousness of anaphylaxis, however I do wonder why it is always nuts that are banned from schools and have such a bad association. Especially since now we are told to introduce nuts and other common food allergens to babies as soon as they start weaning, as exposure can reduce the risk of developing allergies.

There are many other foods that people are seriously allergic to and they are not banned from public- it was only a few years back that a schoolboy died because he had cheese thrown at him. Yet the school weren't expected to ban dairy, even though this child had a severe allergy..

On a flight earlier this year, cabin staff handed out packets of nuts.

It was actually a friend of DDs having a severe milk allergy that started to make me question nut policies.

They had whole procedures in her Reception classroom over milk (as they wee also expected to serve milk and fruit to the other children at break). Yet nuts were completely banned, despite no child being allergic to nuts.
My child hadn't been in the preschool class but apparently they had done the same there and all the 3yos had managed to follow all the rules such as nor sharing and touching anyone else's food, only eating and drinking at a table, no milk, cheese etc on one certain table, hand washing etc.

Saturday coming back from JNB, so yes, in 'recent years'

It's not her responsibility to check about other peoples' allergies

Yep, in business. They generally tell you if someone has an allergy. I’d not buy them proactively so it’s a no to your question I suppose but not because of allergies.

If it's a nut free zone, of course not. If the nuts are served by the airline, yes.

Whenever this topic comes up I always wonder how often people who object normally do just tuck into a packet of nuts. A family member of mine was recently diagnosed with a nut allergy so I've (as someone who is quite keen on nuts) started having to be more cautious, but it made me realise that it's pretty unusual that I would eat pure nuts in a very public/enclosed space like a plane anyway.

Similar to the idea of banning eating/drinking in the theatre/cinema. Most people can probably go a couple of hours without food or drink but suddenly get up in arms about the principle of an option being taken away from them.

Yes unless there was an announcement by crew that someone was on board with a nut allergy. This happened on our holiday flights this year and also last year. They also announced no nut products would be sold on board.

Why should she have checked? If your son had a nut allergy it’s fully your responsibility to let her know. The idea that a whole plane should refrain from eating nuts just in case one person has an allergy is ridiculous, people need to take responsibility for themselves and their children.