Fonsini

The wife and self have caught 4 different BA flights recently, 2 for me and 2 for her. On one of hers and on both of mine passengers were asked not to consume any nut products during the flight as there was at least one passenger on board with an allergy.

Questions about where all these nut allergic people came from aside (everyone munched on peanuts when I was a kid?) - and while doing without my favorite snack for a few hours is hardly a big deal I am left wondering when all this will become too much. I seem to recall a recent story about a near fight resulting from someone with a “service dog” sitting near someone else with a dog hair allergy. I have a general theory that you know when things have gone too far with special interest groups when their unique requirements start to be at odds with each other.

Is there a point where health concerns, allergies, phobias, the need to have a Great Dane on your lap for that 15 hour flight to NRT and other assorted medical conditions will overload the system ?

DorsetKnob

I'm afraid I take a view that flights are public transport, you will mix with the public & you are in a confined public place. If you have a condition that means that is a problem for you, then it's precisely that, your problem. This doesn't mean a reasonable request should not be granted.

bisonrav

Airlines have strict liability and will err on the side of caution generally. I can’t honestly see that foregoing nuts for a while is a big deal, and the allergies are not an invention, people do die.

I can remember maybe 2 flights where this was an issue out of hundreds.

LCY8737

Someone with a severe nut allergy may die as a consequence of someone else munching nuts in an enclosed space that there is no easy escaping from once it's at cruise altitude.

Why are there more nut allergies these days is an interesting question, but it may have to do with not quiet as many severe allergy sufferers dying in childhood.

In any case, one should take these things serious - the young lady dying of an allergic reaction to a pret sandwich on a BA flight a few months back is a sad example as to why this is important.

corporate-wage-slave

Another long but recent thread on this subject can be found here.

No nuts please!

In post 208 of this thread, I recall the story of being delayed 2 hours into AUH, with approx 90 minutes of that due to the fact that a family group discovered that the main CW and WTP meal had almond flakes in it. They were eventually were offloaded since it was a case of choosing between very limited catering for the entire aircraft for 7 hours or removing a family of 6 CW passengers. So at some point the allergy traveller had the worse outcome, it does happen.

The other point I would make to the OP was that though I had two flights in succession with a nut allergy announcement, and a third a week or two later, in July this year, I haven't had a single flight since then where the announcement was made. So while there may be a some increase in this issue, it is by no means a common occurrence. And I've only ever had about 4 guide dogs for the blind in a whole BA flying career, despite living on a route where a blind BA staffer was an occasional traveller, BA doesn't have the "service dog" issue.

UKtravelbear

To be accurate that unfortunate incident happened in 2016 and the inquest in September 2018 - so not a few months back - and the young lady was allergic to sesame seeds not nuts.

And she directly consumed the item - there was no air contamination. and as BA were apparently not aware of her allergy they could make no announcements etc.

LTN Phobia

I am sticking to facts with no comment here. I had two flights this month on BA, different routes, where a request was made not to consume peanuts.

13901

Are there a lot more people with allergies than there were back in the old days? Probably.

Are there people pretending to have an allergy? I know of at least one.

But, are people known to die because of peanut allergy? Absolutely. (And didn't a young girl die on a plane recently on BA, although not because of food she had on the plane but that she brought from elsewhere?).

My most personal bottom line is: the risk is there and if to avoid it completely it means I can't snack on the peanuts, I'm perfectly fine with that.

george77300

Without making comment, just as a point of reference, I have never heard this announcement over my 79 BA flights, including 32 BA in 2019. In fact never had it on any airline to be honest.

argonath

Had it several times on Jet2 flights no BA

thebigben

Why can’t the needs of someone who needs a service dog (not ESA!) be as valid as someone with allergies? May require either to go on the next flight and that’s ok.

Why do you lump everything else with allergies? Why do you care so much about nuts but so little about someone’s ability to fly, which, granted isn’t a right or anything but it is the only practical way to go decent distances.

Allergies are definitely not « going too far »

I also have a mild allergy to nuts but BA chose to run the announcement on a couple of occasions. I don’t need it but it seems to be common procedure.

SKRan

I demand taking everyone on FlyerTalk onboard my next flight in F for emotional support.

muscat

Numerous researchers have found that people are extremely unlikely to suffer anaphylaxis as a result of exposure to airborne nut dust. I’d ask any person claiming this (to be allergic) how many auto-injectors they carry; if the number is less than two I’d question their personal approach to managing their allergy. (Or is it actually an intolerance?)

The bottom line is that flying with a peanut allergy and being exposed to potential sources of peanut in the cabin is not likely to represent an increased risk to the peanut allergic flier. There is no evidence to support peanut vapor as a cause of reactions or that peanut dust itself circulates and causes reactions. There is evidence that common surfaces on an airplane may have residual peanut contamination, but there is also evidence that this can be readily cleaned with commercial agents that passengers can bring aboard themselves, and that doing such cleaning has been noted to reduce the risk of reporting an in-flight reaction. https://www.aaaai.org/ask-the-expert/peanut-air-travel

bisonrav

As I said, BA and other airlines have strict liability and won't be interested in the finer details of level of risk. If told about an allergy, standard legally agreed procedures kick in.

I sense there's more to this than the actual frequency of event anyway - in about 300 flights over the past 3 or 4 years I can remember maybe 2-3 announcements, and it hasn't been a major issue to forgo the Frit. I like warmed nuts as much as the next guy, but it's not central to my in-flight experience. Most service animals don't cause issues, they're not Great Danes as a rule.

I'd speculate that this is more about feelings about loss of control over events, which underlies a lot of flyer psychology. It gets blown up in peoples' minds because it is yet another something external affecting their personal experience and further reducing their latitude to control what is happening to them, and maybe it feeds a "everything's going to the canine support animals" view of life.

Dambus

Unfortunately food allergies are a reality, sufferers should not be treated like flat-earthers IMHO. At least BA is making an effort on this unlike many airlines:

https://community.kidswithfoodallerg...-nut-allergies

By contrast, Emirates advice is to consult your doctor before flying and bring your own food:

https://www.emirates.com/english/bef...uirements.aspx