Nut Allergy - BBC Article and Poll.

[john luke]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0kkzzy8eqjo

 

BBC presenter kicked off flight over child's allergy

 

A freelance BBC weather presenter says she was kicked off a flight from London Gatwick to Turkey after asking passengers not to eat peanuts.

Georgie Palmer, 49, says she and her family were escorted off the SunExpress flight to Dalaman on 21 May, after making the request due to her daughter's allergy. 

Posting on social media, she said the SunExpress crew ignored her requests to do an announcement to all passengers - so she instead spoke to people around her on the flight.

SunExpress said it takes the safety of passengers seriously, but said the airline refrains from making announcements like the one Ms Palmer requested as it "cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment".

 

Anaphylactic reaction

Ms Palmer had boarded the flight with her husband Nick Sollom, 48, and daughters Rosie, 12, and Annie, 14.

She told the BBC the family asked for the crew to make an announcement for no one to consume peanuts because of Rosie's anaphylactic reaction them.

She posted on Instagram saying: "The SunExpress captain and cabin crew refused to make the standard announcement on behalf of our daughter.

"We gently asked the passengers at the front of the plane to share our request.

"Row by row, all the passengers turned back to kindly ask the row behind to please not eat nuts on the flight."

Ms Palmer said she was "calm" and that "nobody working on that plane showed one ounce of compassion".

According to the NHS, anaphylaxis can start within minutes of coming into contact with something you are allergic to, such as a food, medicine or insect sting.

Symptoms include swelling of the throat and tongue, which can make it difficult to breathe.

'Make it crystal clear'

Speaking after her ordeal, Ms Palmer told BBC London she was "horrified" that they would not make the announcement and that the staff got "very defensive".

"My ask is for the airline industry as a whole to take notice of this. 

"What are your policies about nuts – make that crystal clear on your website. 

"Allow your passengers the choice to know whether it is safe to fly with you. 

"As we know you can never enforce an entirely nut-free environment – can we not take a leaf out of the book of restaurants who go to great efforts these days to protect people?"

In a statement, a spokeswoman for SunExpress acknowledged Ms Palmer had raised a concern about her daughter's serious peanut allergy and her request for an announcement.

"We refrain from making these kinds of announcements as, like many other airlines, we cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment on our flights, nor prevent other passengers from bringing food items containing allergens on board.

"Due to the insistent behaviour of the passenger to others on board that they should not consume nuts, the captain decided it would be safest if the family did not travel on our flight.

"When this was explained to the passenger, he exhibited aggressive behaviour towards our crew members and tried to gain access to the cockpit. 

"To ensure the safety of our crew and passengers, we don’t tolerate aggressive and unruly behaviour on our flights."

SunExpress acknowledged the ordeal for Ms Palmer and her family had been "upsetting", adding the airline is "conducting a review of the information provided" during the booking process.

The Turkish-German airline said its website states all passengers must notify SunExpress 48 hours in advance of any special care required due to a medical condition.

"No such notification was received from the passengers in this instance," SunExpress added.

Absolute nonsense

Ms Palmer says claims they became aggressive are "absolute nonsense" and she hopes passengers on the flight will back her up.

"It's simply not true," she said. "There was no aggressive behaviour from us." 

She added she tried to contact SunExpress in the run-up to the holiday but found it very difficult to get hold of someone from the airline.

The family ended up taking an EasyJet flight to the Turkish holiday resort the next day and said the crew made several announcements asking passengers not to open packets of peanuts on board. 

However, Ms Palmer said they were forced to spend an extra £5,000 booking the additional flights, an airport hotel and other costs.

Airlines including British Airways, EasyJet, Ryanair and Jet2 say on request, cabin crew will make an announcement and they will not serve nuts.

 

 

[john luke]

KLM and Emirates serve nuts as a snack with the first round of drinks, just after take-off.  

[Freee!!]

2 minutes ago, john luke said:

KLM and Emirates serve nuts as a snack with the first round of drinks, just after take-off.  

More airlines do.

[galenkia]

I’m allergic to men’s nuts.

[Stillearly]

1 minute ago, galenkia said:

I’m allergic to men’s nuts.

How did you find out ... ? 😜

[Freee!!]

2 minutes ago, Stillearly said:

How did you find out ... ? 😜

Elementary, my dear Watson, look at what body part swelled.

[Butch]

Possibly a contentious topic.

If someone or CC asks me not to eat nuts as their kids or another pax are allergic, I'd be happy to not eat them and get a different snack, because in the whole scheme of things they are literally peanuts. Really not worth arguing about and for me to insist on having the "freedom" to eat what I want to potentially someone else's detriment is dickhead behaviour.

"prohibiting" people I think is different than not supplying them in the first place. The airline can't guarantee an allergen free environment (as stated) but can go to lengths to control the risk factors.

If someone opens a packet of KP during a flight, what are they going to do? - it's not like smoking in the bogs which lands you a fine and possibly a blacklist. Also, a lot of products contain nuts as well, so again, quite a difficult thing to police.

EVA serve a small bag of nuts / crisps in econ just after take off as well.

(I can't afford Biz unlike some of our esteemed members lol...)

 

 

[Horizondave]

It's probably specific to peanuts although many are allergic to other types of nuts or dairy products etc. 

I know at BA, peanuts are not put in their main meals but, like any airline, I doubt their caterers can completely confirm that their facilities are nut free.

There is onus on the passenger to inform the cabin crew on entry to their flight that they have an allergy. I would presume any passenger with a nut allergy would bring their own food, their own medication and epi pens if necessary.

Informing cabin crew will assist in them preparing a buffer zone but you are also hoping that those around you will comply with what they are asked. Some take their own snacks which may includes crisps, peanuts etc., and controlling what people bring is difficult.

My niece has a severe nut allergy and my brother (usually travel as family) will inform the crew, on entry to the plane, of her dietary needs. She has plenty of epi pens when traveling. Most passengers are pretty conscious of the need to protect those around them if necessary but you will get the odd one who will scream, 'I have my civil rights to eat whatever'.

[maipenrai]

Well, I dunno -  where does one draw the line? I feel for those who have genuine allergies and am happy that I am not one of them, but should the rest of the world have to share their pain? When I was still of school attending age, I don't recall ever hearing of any child who had these severe allergies to peanuts especially, and we certainly never saw any notices at any school regarding such; however, in my security job I deal with many schools and at least half of them have big notices on their entrances banning peanuts and one banning dogs from anywhere on the property, including the yard! I learned from one of my fellow co-workers with a friend's child attending this dog-banning school that it is apparently ONE child in the whole school who is allergic to dogs, yet all the hundreds of other kids have to eschew interaction with their fur-bearing friends because of this one child and I don't think that is fair.

It seems to me that back in my day we dealt with our own problems, we didn't inflict them on everybody else; children who grow up seeing the rest of the world catering to their problems specifically will expect this kind of treatment for the rest of their lives, at the expense of those who can live more normal lives. 

[Butch]

28 minutes ago, maipenrai said:

Well, I dunno -  where does one draw the line? I feel for those who have genuine allergies and am happy that I am not one of them, but should the rest of the world have to share their pain? When I was still of school attending age, I don't recall ever hearing of any child who had these severe allergies to peanuts especially, and we certainly never saw any notices at any school regarding such; however, in my security job I deal with many schools and at least half of them have big notices on their entrances banning peanuts and one banning dogs from anywhere on the property, including the yard! I learned from one of my fellow co-workers with a friend's child attending this dog-banning school that it is apparently ONE child in the whole school who is allergic to dogs, yet all the hundreds of other kids have to eschew interaction with their fur-bearing friends because of this one child and I don't think that is fair.

It seems to me that back in my day we dealt with our own problems, we didn't inflict them on everybody else; children who grow up seeing the rest of the world catering to their problems specifically will expect this kind of treatment for the rest of their lives, at the expense of those who can live more normal lives. 

You've hit the nail on the head mate.

Companies are so afraid of bad PR or litigation (which the soft and twisted "justice" system allows people to get away with) that they would rather apply a blanket ban than tell one individual to get with the program. It then goes on to feed the self entitlement attitude many have nowadays.

However, I can recall that peanut allergies were present when I was at school in the 70's, but again, it was down to the individual to avoid eating them, not for the entire school to suffer a ban as a result.

I still stand by what I said though, if someone asked me not to eat or open a pack of peanuts and they were polite and decent about it, then I'd have no problem doing that.

Then again some people want the moon on a stick...

https://au.news.yahoo.com/plus-sized-traveller-divides-opinion-demanding-free-seats-planes-072426315.html?guccounter=1

[Freee!!]

The real problem here is that peanut allergies are preventable. When children come into contact with peanuts (e.g. peanut butter) before the age of one year, the chances of them developing a peanut allergy are orders of magnitude smaller than when that is postponed until after the age of two years.

[Derek Dangleberries]

6 hours ago, Horizondave said:

I would presume any passenger with a nut allergy would bring their own food, their own medication and epi pens if necessary.

 

3 hours ago, Butch said:

if someone asked me not to eat or open a pack of peanuts and they were polite and decent about it, then I'd have no problem doing that.

I stand by and concur with both of these statements but I strongly disagree with airlines changing their menu for everybody to suit a few people with allergies that can be avoided or inhibited by medication that surely they carry with them on a daily basis...

How many restaurants can guarantee a completely nut free environment ..??