9/14/2026
I live in Arlington, Virginia, and have been allergic to peanuts and tree nuts my whole life. In the last ten years, I also developed an allergy to seeds, particularly sesame and sunflower.
On Monday, September 14, 2026, I was flying home from a vacation in Spain on JetBlue, with a layover in Boston before continuing to the Washington, DC, area. When I booked my ticket, I checked the box indicating that I had a nut allergy. I also told the gate agents and, once on board, the flight attendants. The crew made an announcement to passengers in the rows around me. JetBlue says it does not make allergy announcements to the entire plane.
On our flight, there was an option to order an in-flight meal. I looked through the menu and saw chicken pesto pasta described as nut-free. The menu listed only four ingredients: chicken, nut-free kale pesto, pasta, and herbs. I told the flight attendant that I was allergic to nuts and seeds and had my EpiPen with me. After she confirmed that there were no nuts in the dish, I ordered it.
About two hours into the flight, while we were over the ocean, the meal arrived. I took two bites and immediately started feeling sick. I went to the back of the plane, alerted the crew, and asked for a full ingredient list. A flight attendant brought out a printed list, but it still contained only the same short list of ingredients.
At first, I thought the reaction was a typical one for me because I was experiencing only nausea. I tried to make myself throw up and vomited about six times in the bathroom at the back of the plane. Two female flight attendants were helpful during this part of the reaction. I also took an antihistamine, although I do not remember whether that was before or after I vomited.
I looked up the catering company and found a similar, but not identical, meal that listed mustard as an ingredient. Because of my sesame allergy and concerns about cross-reactivity, I would not have eaten the meal if mustard had been listed. At the time, I suspected mustard might have been the trigger, but I still do not know what caused the reaction.
I thought I would start feeling better after vomiting. Instead, about thirty minutes later, I began to suspect that I might be experiencing anaphylaxis. My nose became stuffy and runny, and I felt chest constriction—a symptom I also experience with asthma. I began feeling anxious and had a sense of impending doom.
The three anaphylactic reactions I had experienced in the past had been marked by an itchy, rapidly closing throat. I did not know that the symptoms I was experiencing this time could also be signs of anaphylaxis, so I wasn’t 100% certain that I should use my EpiPen.
I went to the back of the plane to look for the flight attendants who had been helping me but didn’t see them, so instead spoke to a male flight attendant who was pushing a beverage cart. I told him that I was having an allergic reaction and wasn’t sure if I should use my EpiPen. My voice was quiet, and he leaned in, so I repeated what I had said. As I later found out, he was not a native English speaker and had misunderstood me.
I returned to my seat expecting the crew to make an announcement asking if there was a doctor on board. I was texting my parents, and my mother was telling me to use my EpiPen. After five minutes passed without medical help arriving, I self-administered it for the first time in my life. I then asked the person sitting next to me to press the call button.
One of the two flight attendants who had helped me earlier came to my seat with paperwork. She told me that the male flight attendant had incorrectly told the crew that I did not have an EpiPen and that they were trying to contact medical support on the ground. She asked me for details to complete the paperwork. As I tried to answer, I realized how much my throat had closed: I could barely get the words out.
The other flight attendant brought a nurse, who took me to the back of the plane. They used a pulse oximeter, and the nurse monitored me and helped calm me down for about twenty to thirty minutes. The flight attendants asked whether the plane needed to be diverted. The nurse and I both said no.
I returned to my seat and tried to sleep. After sleeping for about thirty minutes to an hour, I woke up with another wave of nausea. I rushed to the back of the plane but did not make it to the bathroom before vomiting again. The crew did not call the nurse back. I returned to my seat and waited for the flight to end.
Anaphylaxis can turn deadly in minutes, and JetBlue’s crew did not move with sufficient urgency. I was not offered a second dose of epinephrine, and there was no medical crew waiting for me when we landed in Boston.
I had messaged a family member who lived in Boston, who brought me some white rice so I could get something into my stomach. I then boarded my connecting flight to the Washington, DC, area. I told the flight attendants that I was terrified.
When I got home and went to bed, I was still having trouble breathing. I have asthma and use an analog peak flow meter. The next day, my reading was 250, which is firmly in the red, or danger, zone for me.
For the following week, I continued to experience diminished lung capacity, a runny nose, flu-like symptoms, and the mental anguish of having gone through a near-death experience. I felt depressed and was not able to sing during choir rehearsals.
On September 15, I filed a complaint through JetBlue’s ADA line and asked to speak with a Complaint Resolution Official, or CRO. I reported everything that had happened. The person I spoke with acknowledged that I still sounded extremely sick and asked whether a medical crew had been waiting when we landed. There had not been.
JetBlue later sent me a survey about the flight. I responded that I was still waiting to hear back about my complaint. When customer support eventually replied, they said they had not failed to meet any standards. Their account did not match what I had experienced, which led me to believe they had spoken with the crew.
I had hoped for an apology and an opportunity to discuss how JetBlue could keep passengers with food allergies safe. I also expected that they might offer a voucher or another gesture acknowledging what had happened.
I still do not know what triggered my reaction because JetBlue has not provided a complete ingredient list.
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