Jun 28
Refused an allergy announcement and told my son shouldn’t fly—this flight was a terrifying reminder of how little some airlines understand about anaphylaxis.

Lufthansa Airlines – A Flight Full of Barriers: Asking for Safety, Met with Dismissal

4/12/2023

Before takeoff, I approached a member of the cabin crew to inform her about my 4-year-old son’s life-threatening peanut allergy. I asked if a simple announcement could be made asking passengers to avoid eating nuts during the short 2-hour flight. Her response stunned me:

“There will be no announcement. I can’t ask 200 people not to eat nuts.”
I asked if she understood how serious anaphylaxis is. She replied,

“Yes, I do—but again, I can’t ask 200 people not to eat nuts.”
She added that the airline would not be serving nuts onboard, but that didn’t address the risk of airborne exposure from passengers eating their own snacks. After trying to advocate for my son and getting nowhere, we sat down and instead warned the passengers around us—who were shocked that the airline refused to help.

Then, to our disbelief, the captain came over and said:

“If your son is as sick as you say, then he won’t be able to fly with us.”
I explained that my son was not currently sick, but that exposure to peanuts could make him sick—potentially fatally so. The captain responded by handing my son an adult-sized face covering as a “solution.” It didn’t fit. It fell off immediately. We spent the next two hours sitting in fear, watching our son for any sign of a reaction.

As if that wasn’t enough, just before landing a crew member handed out complimentary snacks—including to my son. We declined, but someone in our group accepted one, only to discover the label read “may contain nuts.”

It was the worst of the four flights we had taken on our holiday. Here’s how the others handled it:

1st flight: United Airlines, Edinburgh to Newark — A calm, no-fuss announcement was made.
2nd flight: United, Newark to Orlando — Initially told no, but a different crew member listened and followed through.
3rd flight: Eurowings Discover (Lufthansa), Orlando to Frankfurt — After two requests and eye-rolls from staff, the announcement was finally made 40 minutes after boarding. That delay could have been disastrous.
To anyone who has never seen a loved one go into anaphylaxis, this may seem petty or inconvenient. But if it were your loved one at risk, wouldn’t you hold off on eating a snack? There are plenty of alternatives. And unlike in a restaurant or public space, you can’t just walk off a plane when you’re exposed to a life-threatening allergen.

We’re not asking for much—just awareness, basic compassion, and a willingness to help keep our children safe.