Reading the news these days, including the behavior of some passengers, really makes my blood boil. I just can’t believe how selfish some people are. The latest, which should infuriate you too, is a story out of the United Kingdom.
The Daily Mail reports: “Girl, 14, with severe nut allergy nearly died aboard BA flight after passenger ‘refused to stop eating peanuts despite TWICE being told by cabin crew he was putting the teenager’s life at risk’.
Poppy Jones needed oxygen and two shots of an epi-pen during a nightmare eight-hour flight from London to Antigua, all because a passenger refused to stop eating peanuts. Fortunately, the girl is okay now but in my opinion, the passenger should have been arrested.
If I hadn’t experienced something similar, it’s almost impossible to believe. But over a decade ago, I was on a short United flight and prior to takeoff, the flight attendants made the same serious announcement that they did on Poppy’s flight.
I’m not exaggerating when I say that within ten minutes, a guy across the aisle from me started eating a Snickers bar.
I snapped at him. I said, “Didn’t you hear the crew just ask everyone not to even open up something with nuts, let alone eat it? The particles alone in the air could cause a fatal allergic reaction.” He said something along the lines of, “But it’s just a Snickers Bar and I’m hungry.”
Since the life of a stranger wasn’t important to this selfish person, I tried to put it in terms he would understand. I explained to him that if the person has a reaction, we will probably end up returning to the airport or diverting to another one, which could take hours, depending on the crews eligibility (they’re only allowed to work a certain amount of hours a day).
And this was just the person sitting next to me. Who knows what others were doing. Thank God the allergic passenger didn’t have a reaction and need medical attention.
And this happens all over the world. An excellent British aviation analyst named Alex Macheras replied to a tweet last year that said:
“A friend got in touch. He writes: “I’ve just been on a BA flight where the entire aircraft was requested to not eat any peanut or nut-containing snacks because someone on board had a nut allergy.” Can this be right?“
To the person who retweeted it, not who wrote it, Alex rightly replied with:
1) This is very common at multiple airlines all over the world ✔️
2) Being considerate of others, including those with high chances of suffering a severe allergic reaction triggered by the dust of nuts in the confines of an aircraft cabin, is really not ‘outrageous’ or ‘woke.’
1) This is very common at multiple airlines all over the world ✔️
2) Being considerate of others, including those with high chances of suffering a severe allergic reaction triggered by the dust of nuts in the confines of an aircraft cabin, is really not ‘outrageous’ or ‘woke’ https://t.co/zUFdVnTaRd
— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) October 2, 2021
Is it me or does it amaze you how inconsiderate people have become? Seriously. Is it that difficult to go anywhere between 40 minutes and 18 hours without eating something with nuts?
RELATED: Tips For Flying With Someone Who Has a Mild Peanut Allergy
I agree, totally selfish even sociopathic. Here’s how to nip it in the bud: The flight attendants need to announce before take-off that A. No nuts allowed on the plane and B. If someone does, and causes another passenger have a serious reaction they will be more than inconvenienced when we divert the plane and cause you untold wasted time and inconvenience. No compensation from the airline since you were warned.
I totally agree that we should all cooperate and be considerate of the health of other passengers. But doesn’t this call into question the claims by airlines and aircraft manufacturers that the air filtration is adequately handling the COVID virus?
Why is it that for years they gave out peanuts on flights and now suddenly no one can eat a peanut on board
Announcements that explain the reasons behind the request are much more effective, and should be standard practice. Nut allergy is a pain for two friends who have it– alert all of the time.
However, there should be no excuse for a person with such a high vulnerability (nut dust) to not have the self protection necessary when traveling (special mask?).
To put oneself at risk and depend upon 100% cooperation by hundreds of strangers as well as kids…..to say nothing of maneuvering through airports, etc., sounds ridiculous….possibly bordering on criminally negligent.
once again we are reduced to the lowest common denominator
Persons with that enormous sensitivity to peanuts should take their own precautions or not fly at all..because it is impossible to expect 100% compliance from a plane full of strangers..and we shouldn’t expect that at all
I have friends with peanut allergies..and they would never expect a plane full of passengers to not eat a candy bar with peanuts!!! They would never request that restriction on others and not fly if that was a concern of theirs.
If I had such an allergy I wouldn’t assume the plane was sanitized prior to boarding from the last 150+ passengers who weren’t given such restrictions. Even if you aren’t eating actual peanuts the snack you are enjoying may have tiny print stating that it is made in a facility that also processes nuts. If it’s truly so severe that dust is going to cause such a reaction then peanut allergy afflicted should bear the cost of diversions and inconvenience of others.
What if somebody is travling with young children and some being picky eaters as many are, only will eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that mommy brought on the plane for them. While I understand the seriousness of allergies, I also recall having to appease my own picky eaters by producing foods that they would eat during an eleven hour fight. Maybe all the airlines ALL have to become nut free zones off the bat.
There is no evidence that eating peanuts on a plane is in any way dangerous to passengers with a peanut allergy. Several studies have proven this fact conclusively. The incident mentioned in this article was miss-reported in the Daily Mail and ultimately the nuts that were being consumed were not linked to the medical emergency.
Even the American Peanut Allergy Association states that there is no chance of an allergy sufferer becoming ill because of another passenger eating nuts.
There’s enough virtue signalling in every walk of life, let’s not extend that to what food people shouldn’t eat on a plane ffs.
If people are going to be restricted from eating something they bring on board, there needs to be a reasonable alternatives that the airlines will offer passengers for free, unless they notify the entire flight in advance of a flight that peanuts will be restricted. There are some kids who require high protein foods for their medical condition (ie. Cystic Fibrosis) and often peanut butter is their main dietary choice. Vegan children often eat peanuts/nuts due to allergies and religion. I’d favor an area on the flight that is a no peanut zone on all airplanes. An example would be the 1st 6 rows in coach or last 6 rows. I see both sides of the argument, but when a person is captive on a flight and have no other food options, you’ll will find much resentment and non-compliance. Parents of children with severe allergies might want to find better options for travel (ie. personal car). I would make my child’s severe allergy utmost importance and not risk exposing them to unknown allergens that are found in many closed buildings (airports, taxi, trains, restaurants).
Got an email that is headed “This one thing drives me nuts on airplanes, and I can’t believe it not illegal”…..then , I’m trying to find the article about it….finally find it after clicking through many other articles, under the heading “If the Flight Attendants Ask You Not to Eat Nuts, Then Don’t! It Could Be a Matter of Life or Death”! I’m assuming where this was addressed, as it looked like the article contained similar topic.,…
Very different headings, can you make the headings the same in the future? Love reading and an active part of your community….thank you.
What a lot of hysterical nonsense. Someone who has an allergic reaction to nuts on a plane is almost certainly reacting to nut residue that has been left on touch-points by passengers on a previous flight and NOT because another passenger happens to be eating them nearby. Passing the buck onto other passengers is an easy excuse for airlines who don’t want the hassle & cost of having to properly clean the cabin during tight turnaround times. The American Peanut Council talks a lot of sense on this topic. Shame most members of the public prefer to get their information from the lying and sensationalist media.
If I want to eat a Snickers bar on a flight then I’ll do it. If someone has a nut allergy that is so extreme that their life may be at risk because of this then they should take measures to protect themselves (& according to the American Peanut Council, that risk is more fiction than founded on reality). This might mean wearing a mask, taking medication, or choosing an alternative means of travel. I don’t know you and I owe you nothing.
This is just another hysterical tabloid fuelled rant to sell newspapers to the same thickos who are convinced that they always catch a cold on a flight “because the recirculated air means they’re breathing in everyone else’s germs”.