It is high time that airlines should collectively bring a policy to guarantee a peaceful and hassle-free service to passengers. Especially a completely nut-free inflight environment as nut allergies are quite common for travellers with nut allergies. Korean Air hit global headlines for kicking two minors earlier in March this year, with severe peanut allergies off its Seoul to Manila flight, instead of complying with the passenger’s special request not to serve peanuts on the flight.
Recently, a popular airline asked two Indian siblings with severe nut allergies, to sit in the toilet while the cashew nuts were being served to the rest of the passengers on the flight. Sundeep Sahota, 33, and Shannen Sahota, 24, said they informed Emirates Airlines thrice about their nut allergies. But 40 minutes into the flight from England’s Birmingham Airport to Dubai, the cabin crew started serving fried cashews, leaving them suffering from the allergy.
“We were stunned when a supervisor told us ‘one way around it’ was for us to spend the flight in the cabin loo,” said Shannen, an analyst from Wolverhampton.
“We felt so degraded and embarrassed – it was horrible,” she said, adding that “it was meant to be a happy occasion as we were going to celebrate our parents’ 60th birthday but the start of our holiday was ruined.”
A contracts manager, Sundeed said Emirates ignored all the information they had given them. However, the airline claims the booking records do not reflect any mention of an allergy and it can never guarantee passengers a nut-free flight.
“We are sorry to hear about Ms Sahota’s complaint. Emirates tries to cater to all passengers’ specific needs by offering a number of special meals that cover as many medical, dietary and religious requirements as possible. However, Emirates cannot guarantee completely nut-free flights,” the airline said in a statement.
“We’ve looked into Ms Sahota’s booking and our records do not reflect any mention of a nut allergy. All passengers who alert us to a nut allergy prior to travel are informed of our policy and it is also outlined on our website here.”
