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What for some is a pleasure to munch on during a flight, for others is a threat to health and even life. That’s why some airlines have completely banned the consumption of peanuts on planes and withdrawn them from their offerings. In others, passengers may face an unusual request before takeoff.
There was the notorious case of a 27-year-old British woman who bought back all 48 packets of peanuts included in the in-flight offer on a flight from London to Düsseldorf in August 2023. She paid £144 (about £730) for them, three times what the ticket itself cost her. As described in the media, she sought a refund from the carrier.
On another occasion, a family returning to England from a vacation in Cyprus was denied boarding because of a peanut allergy suffered by their 6-year-old daughter, who was traveling with them. As The Independent reported, the captain and crew were said to have refused a request not to serve nuts on the flight. The father, in turn, refused to sign a statement that he would take full responsibility if something happened to his daughter.
“Something” means in the first and second cases even anaphylactic shock, a violent allergic reaction that is life-threatening. Peanuts are a very potent food allergen. Allergies to them are quite common – 1 in 50 children and 1 in 200 adults in the UK suffer from them.
Ban on peanuts in airlines
In 2019, easyJet has withdrawn peanuts from its in-flight offerings. Turkish Airlines says on its website to report a peanut allergy up to 48 hours before the flight. Then their in-flight menu will be adjusted. The carrier stipulates, however, that “there will, however, be no changes to the menu for other people on board.”
Different rules apply at Ryanair airlines. “We ask that customers who are allergic to nuts notify the cabin crew when boarding. Other customers will be informed that products containing nuts will not be sold on board. Other customers will be asked not to open products containing nuts, however Ryanair cannot guarantee that there will be no nuts on board the aircraft.” – reports the Irish carrier on its website.
What does the science say?
In the fall of 2024, NaukawPolsce.pl described the results of a study by British scientists from Imperial College of London. They found that there was no strong evidence that peanut allergy sufferers were exposed to allergens in the air due to other passengers on board the plane eating them. However, higher levels of allergens have been detected on tables, seats, trays and the aircraft floor.
This creates a risk of contact with the allergen and a reaction from the body, for example, from touching the seats while moving around the aircraft cabin and later ingesting it. British researchers stressed that a factor that reduces the risk is disinfecting (for example, with disinfectant wipes) the seat back, seat, armrests and table.
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