I travelled solo from Philadelphia to London on an overnight flight, departing at 10.45pm on 4/29/24 arriving in London just before 11am on 4/30/24. My booking was made through British Airways, who had contracted American Airlines to fly the plane on the return flight. On my outbound, British Airways-operated flight, the airline made 4 announcements reminding passengers not to open any nut products due to a passenger (me!) travelling with a severe allergy. They offered me an ingredient list for meals and ensured that no nut products were served on board whilst I was flying. This was a great experience and it’s a shame that I experienced the complete opposite on the return flight with American Airlines.
I made staff aware prior to flying about my allergy, I visited the customer service desk at Philadelphia Airport on the day of flying to remind them, I told gate staff prior to boarding (who let me pre-board to wipe down my area) and I told the flight attendants when I boarded. That is four separate notice points where I advised I had a severe, life-threatening, airborne nut allergy which puts me at risk of anaphylaxis. Upon boarding, the flight attendant told me “We don’t serve nuts on board, we threw that out years ago” – this was great to hear and I felt that I would be okay. However, there was no announcement made to politely ask other customers not to open their own nut products. When I asked them when they would do this, the flight attendant refused and told me it was against their policy to ask customers not to eat certain foods. When I asked them if this applied even when someone’s life is at risk, the flight attendant was rude and simply replied “That’s right, ma’am”. I was shocked at the complete disregard for LIFE.
At this point, my anxiety increased knowing I was now stuck in a tube in the sky for 8 hours with staff who did not show any care or interest in keeping me safe. I was served a meal alongside other passengers but flight attendants said they had no information about the ingredients in the meals. How is this possible? How is there no information about allergens or ingredients? I did not eat the meal, but instead ate a safe snack I had brought on board with me (which I always pack in case I need them…).
At breakfast time, I was absolutely shocked to wake from a nap to a bag of cashew nuts on my tray. Every other passenger also had a bag of cashews which many of them were opening and eating, including both passengers either side of me. I was fearing for my safety now. I took two strong antihistamines and immediately put my 2 epipens on my lap for easy access if I needed them. I alerted staff to the fact they were serving nuts and she simply said “I didn’t spot that”. She offered no apology, no help for me or to move me from my seat to somewhere a bit safer. At this point, it was too late as the packets are already open and circulating the nut dust in the air, but even moving seat would have been a polite offer. I asked a different attendant to move seats and he did accommodate this. He also offered me a water which was kind, but in reality, this is not helpful at all. I then started to itch across my throat, neck and arms. This was followed by a rash. I was alerted by my Apple Watch that my heart rate was also dangerously high now. I took two more strong antihistamines and I took myself to the bathroom for 20 minutes to try and spend some time in a ‘safe(r)’ space, splash water on my face and calm down. When I returned to my seat, one of the flight attendants had the nerve to ask me to move back to my allocated seat as I hadn’t ‘paid for this seat’ (which was completely empty, by the way – there were three empty rows). I refused and said that I am prioritising my health by remaining here and she was not at all happy about that.
At that point, it was only 25 minutes until landing and my rash was starting to settle slightly, but this could have been a really horrific outcome. I am still so angry that there was no care for my wellbeing and for my life from American Airlines and their staff. There was no apology for serving the nuts, no one came to check on me, I was scared for my life and angry.
In the UK, anaphylaxis and life threatening allergies are protected under the Equality Act 2010 as they are deemed a disability. If American Airlines had to conform to this, they would have been in breach and I could take legal action, but they do not have to follow this, even if they are in British airspace.
We need more protection and safety for life-threatening allergies.
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