FoxtrotOscar

Just landed on BA106 from DXB. Take off was delayed 90 mins while the crew deliberated and then offloaded two nut allergists "after extensive consultation with medical and commercial teams in the UK and the US".

Apparently there was extensive use of nuts as ingredients in the J menus and the airline concluded it was not appropriate they flew.

This is the second time in my last 3 long haul flights when this has happened (the other was AA to PHL).

Surely the time has come for airlines to move to a policy of nut free menus. Clearly they can't stop pax bringing nuts on board, but they can stop increasing the risks.

And not withstanding the health risks, surely given the rcommercial issues of a 90 minute delay and who-knows-how-many missed connections it's got to make sense?

corporate-wage-slave

Since it's near impossible to keep nuts and peanuts off an aircraft, and given the prevalence of anaphylaxis is extremely low (well below 0.5% of the population) I think moving to nut and peanut free meals wouldn't be a good idea - you can do all you want with the meals, and yet it can still go wrong if someone has a Snickers bar on them. Those with anaphylaxis will know all about it, and I think it's up to them to work out the best ways to handle it.

I've had a few easyJet flights where they asked people to do this, one of which did lead to an incident at LGW requiring urgent medical intervention despite all the warnings. I appreciate this isn't much fun for those with severe allergies, but with 300 people on board, all speaking different languages, there are some unfortunate realities out there.

Peanut allergy is the most well known bean allergy, but there are people who suffer from other bean allergies, so it's difficult to draw a line here or we will all end up eating Tofu.

offtothehills

I'd imagine it would be a nigh impossible task for BA to say that their menus are nut free - they would need to declare that all foods were prepared in a completely nut free environment, as far as I know.
Airlines have been known to request, on some flights, that pax do not take/consume nuts on board.
However, if I, or my family, were that allergic to nuts, then I would be wary of going on "public" transport. Allergies seem to be an increasing problem, and of course, a potentially deadly one.

lostinlondon

As someone who has food allergies (quite severe peanut; had many more, very severe ones as children), I'd say it's up to us with the allergies to figure out a solution. It's difficult as can be and I appreciate anyone who has dealt with allergies, especially (personally) my parents. I will say good on them for being proactive and not causing anything during the flight, but we also can't expect (and shouldn't!!) hundreds of people to suddenly change their behaviour. There's only so much each of us can do but that's exactly what we need to be doing.

FoxtrotOscar

All good points. I agree it's impossible to guarantee nut free but I think there is more airlines could do.

Perhaps even it is simply providing more awareness by publishing menus in advance, or making the risk explicit at point of booking.

I am sure the two folk directly impacted this morning didn't have unrealistic expectations of a nut free zone - but if they knew nuts were extensively used in a range of dishes they could have made alternative arrangements and saved themselves and others the hassle.

muscat

This is madness. The 106 has a 02:25 departure time. If you've got a nut allergy, why eat anything on the plane? Assuming the menu is the same as the AUH flight, you could have a cup of soup and cheese if you actually wanted to eat.

DYKWIA

I'm guessing it could be the presence of nuts around the person with the allergy, rather than them actually eating nuts?

musehead

My girlfriend has a severe allergy to all types of nuts, she feels it's her responsibility but airlines could definitely do more to help considering the seriousness of being stuck on the plane if the worst were to happen.

BA have in the past told her off for not ordering a nut free special meal (such a thing does not exist). They are generally reasonably accommodating but sometimes the response is something along the lines of "I don't think it contains nuts" which doesn't inspire much confidence.

Air China were hopeless, they didn't seem to understand the concept of a nut allergy and were not willing to be helpful.

Publishing full menus online with all allergens identified would be super helpful.

steadman

Absolutely.An allergist can be seated next to someone who ate a PB&J sandwich previously and still have a reaction. A recycled nut particled air supply, nut crumbs in the seat, tray, seat pocket. Even a clean "de-nutted" plane can throw up said allergens into the air system - and depending on the style and equipment used to clean could actually make it worse. I have no idea how the ultra-sensitive do anything, let alone fly on an aircraft.

It does seem rather bizarre to actually be on the aircraft before the concerns were raised.

Depending on the sensitivity of those it affects the assumption is that everything is a danger zone until proved otherwise, never the other way around.

vibguy

Exactly, I can't stand people sitting around me who are nuts. Could BA please IQ check everybody around me and off-load the nutty ones?
Seriously: there is nothing much BA can do. It's up to the nut allergists to take care.

crazy8534

Completely agree with you CWS, as the father of someone with a severe peanut/bean allergy, although we are lucky that they have never had anaphylaxis and their reaction requires ingestion.

ianfly

Those with severe allergies make up such a small amount of the overall travelling population and what they are allergic to varies so much that it they didn't use the ingredients there wouldn't be much left.

I did have a recent flight domestic first in the US where a pax had a nut allergy. The crew said "we serve nuts in first, they can de-plane and drive". I feel like BA dealt with it better than having an onboard emergency

flygod

ianfly,

Maybe the AA crew made a good point? A bit harsh, and I would certainly forego the warm nuts in F if asked (they are not that great!), but after all, "take a hike" was what the BA crew eventually came up with, albeit with a 90 min delay.

After all, how did the two pax get to DBX in the first place, or if starting there, had they not really thought about all this beforehand?

I would have thought a 02:25 departure would have been a good choice by the affected pax since at that time there would be little eating (and therefore fewer nuts) and more sleeping?

msm2000uk

I'm not sure if BA do, but QR certainly have a list on board which details all ingredients and potential allergens to watch out for.

The crew are all aware of the list, and I've seen them reach for it many times - usually for those who are lactose intolerant or have a nut allergy.

CX carry something similar on some flights, but I'm not sure if the BA ingredient and prep list (for those in the galley) lists the potential allergens.

I agree that publishing online would be helpful, and it wouldn't be difficult for BA as they already publish the menu available through the Order In Advance option.

M

UKtravelbear

BA have something called 'chefs chat' which includes allergy information. A couple of the BA staffers have specifically mentioned it.

And a reminder that peanuts are not nuts!

BA (well any airline) has no control over people eating anything.

As I've said before you could have someone who ate a pack of KPs finest before boarding and then starts to handle things - their seat, the seat in front, the OH locker, the toilet door, the IFE etc etc spreading the oils and particles onto whatever they touch. Those residues could be there for days and days as well.