I always make sure to ask when I book a flight if it is possible that nuts are not served, and request an announcement made asking fellow passengers to please save nuts brought onboard for later. On the day of travel, I show up early to check in and remind the airline what has been agreed. On October 1st, 2013 check in for my first flight went fantastic. The staff said that they have computer systems for these requests, and all my details were in the flight file so I would be absolutely safe with them. I flew on the first leg of my flight and experienced no problems.
But when I boarded the connecting Turkish Airlines flight in Turkey, every seat had a bag of nuts placed on it. I politely reminded the crew of my nut allergy, but they would not hear any of it. The crew was rude, and a group of attendants gathered around me and shouted at me in front of the other passengers. It was so humiliating and frankly very scary.
Someone in the crew produced a box of sticky notes/post its and grabbed a pen to write something quick in Turkish, which I don’t speak. They told me this was a waiver that I needed to sign, promising that if I die on board, I relinquish the right for my family to press charges. By then, I was in tears. I signed the waiver because I was too afraid to be left in a country I’ve never visited and know nothing about. My luck was that as the crew left me, passengers near my seat approached. Plenty had noticed the shouting crew and they were all very understanding and all the people in the rows near me agreed to save their nut bags for later. Their compassion brought me safely home.
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