Family Removed from United Flight After Requesting Nut-Free Environment

The Irish Independent reported that a couple and their daughter were removed from a Dublin-bound United Airlines flight after requesting a nut-free environment due to the girl’s severe allergy.

According to the report published Wednesday, an Irish family requested that the crew of a United Airlines flight from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Dublin Airport (DUB) not serve nuts during the trip.

The request followed an incident earlier this month when the couple’s 4-year old daughter, who had not previously been diagnosed with food allergies, consumed cashews while the family was on a flight from DUB to EWR. The cashews triggered a severe anaphylactic reaction in under a minute. Fortunately for the child, there was an allergy specialist on the flight who was able to administer adrenaline.

The flight, which had already been in the air for two hours, turned around and returned to Dublin so the child could receive medical treatment. After the girl was treated and discharged from Temple Street Children’s Hospital the next day, United accommodated the family’s request not to serve nuts on their flight from DUB to EWR.

When the family requested a nut-free environment on their return flight from EWR to DUB, they were asked to leave the plane. United reportedly agreed to provide a nut-free environment for the family on a flight scheduled for the following day.

“My daughter was extremely upset by the whole thing, as was I. My husband was angry with how quickly the whole thing escalated from what seemed like a simple request,” the girl’s mother, who was not identified, told the Independent, “But that seemed to be a big issue because this was part of the United service and they said they didn’t advertise themselves as a nut-free airline.”

This story closely follows recent reports of a Ryanair passenger who refused multiple requests from passengers and flight crew to refrain from eating nuts, causing a 4-year-old girl seated nearby to have a severe anaphylactic reaction. The man has since been banned from flying Ryanair for two years.

There is some debate as to whether or not nuts and peanuts consumed by other passengers can cause an allergic reaction in a passenger who merely smells the food. Citing five studies over the last 10 years, allergy specialist Matthew Greenhawt told Allergic Living Magazine that such concerns are overblown.“It is highly unlikely for a passenger to inhale nut protein from someone consuming nuts a few rows in front of him/her. There is no evidence that has been able to show that such dust circulates.”

While United does not bill itself as a nut-free airline, the company does list a specific peanut allergy policy on its website, which states:

United does not board pre-packaged peanuts, but unfortunately we cannot guarantee that a flight will be peanut-free. It’s not possible to ensure that customers will not bring food items onboard that contain nuts, and for a variety of operational reasons, we cannot guarantee peanut-free flights, offer peanut-free zones, or remove any onboard products based on individual customer requests.

United’s allergy policy puts all onus on passengers, encouraging anyone who flies with the airline to “review any health concerns with their physicians prior to flying.”

[Photo: United Airlines]