“Are They Suggesting People With Nut Allergies Shouldn’t Fly at All?”

Travelers with nut allergies have to make sure they’re constantly planning in advance when booking flights because so many airlines still use nuts on the plane in their food. One passenger learne that the hard way when he was forcefully removed from a Turkish Airlines flight. 

A recent passenger on a Turkish Airlines flight says that he was kicked off of the plane after he told flight attendants he has a nut allergy. Twenty-five-year-old Josh Silver was preparing to fly with his girlfriend from Turkey to England when the two were escorted off the plane they boarded by armed police after Silver told flight attendants about his allergy.

“Are they suggesting people with nut allergies shouldn’t fly at all? It’s discriminating,” Silver told the BBC, reported by The Independent. “I felt like I’d done something wrong. If I had been drunk I would have understood but I’ve got a medical condition.”

Silver said that he informed the airline in advance and was only letting flight attendants know as a further precaution. But the airline contends that didn’t actually happen.

“We clearly state on our website that anyone with a nut allergy must inform us before the flight,” a Turkish Airlines spokesperson told The Independent. “In this case, our records show that no such information was provided by the passenger until they boarded the flight, which unfortunately is too late for cabin crew to prepare for and take precautions against potential allergy attacks in advance. Our priority is always to ensure our passengers are safe to enjoy a pleasant flight.”