An airline passenger went to extreme lengths to alert her seatmates that her four-year-old daughter suffers from a “life-threatening” peanut allergy and begged the other passengers around her not to eat any foods containing peanuts for the entire flight.
The worried mother stuck homemade signs to the cabin walls of her flight that read: “My 4-year-old daughter had a life-threatening peanut allergy. Please no nuts during the flight. Thank you for your understanding.”
Imagine this:
from you/GoAndGetYourShineBox onboard crew
The image of the signs was shared on Reddit, where flight attendants voiced their opinions on whether the mother was right or wrong when she tried to convince her seatmates not to eat peanuts.
Some crew members called the signs “extreme” and even said that putting homemade signs on the sidewalls was a violation of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations. However, many also expressed sympathy for the plight of parents who find themselves in such a situation.
The way airlines deal with passengers suffering from severe allergies can vary widely, with some families even being barred from flights for disclosing their health concerns to ground staff and flight crew.
Officially, the International Air Transportation Association (IATA), the official industry association for the vast majority of airlines worldwide, states that airlines can never guarantee a nut- or allergen-free cabin environment and that passengers with life-threatening allergies should first seek medical advice before boarding an aircraft.
However, some airlines are trying to do more to protect passengers with severe allergies, although these measures are not implemented everywhere.
For example, the British budget airline EasyJet proactively issues announcements on behalf of passengers with severe allergies and asks other customers to refrain from eating nut-based snacks they have brought with them during the flight. The airline even removes items containing nuts from sale.
British Airways also makes announcements on behalf of parents or guardians and allows allergy sufferers to board early to wipe down their seat area.
In the US, Delta Airlines has one of the most accommodating policies for allergy sufferers: it allows its customers to board early and proactively refrains from serving nuts in premium cabins if a passenger informs the flight crew of their allergy.
In contrast, American Airlines does not offer pre-boarding, does not make announcements to inform other passengers and continues to serve nut snacks in premium cabins.
In April, United Airlines passenger Lianne Mandelbaum told the Department of Transportation (DOT) that she felt “humiliated and intimidated” when she mentioned to a flight attendant that her son had a severe peanut allergy.
Lianne says she asked a flight crew member to inform the passengers sitting around her about her son’s allergy, but the crew member refused the request and called her to the front of the plane, where she was reprimanded by a member of the ground crew for the request.
Last August, a British woman with a severe nut allergy bought all 48 packets of nuts on a Eurowings flight to London because the cabin crew refused to pass the snacks on to other passengers.
Fearing she would suffer an anaphylactic shock if another passenger ate the nuts, the woman spent 168 euros to grab all the snacks before anyone else got to them.
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