When a passenger reported that she was allergic to nuts when boarding the plane, the flight attendants told her that there was nothing they could do, since, according to the contract, they had to distribute nuts during the flight. The crew of the plane decided to leave the “problem” passenger at the airport.
This story was told by the site Live and Let’s Fly. The article says Sophie Draper, 26, was scheduled to fly with American Airlines from London to New York. When booking a ticket online, Sophie wanted to indicate that she was allergic to nuts, but this was not indicated on the registration form.
She then reported the allergy to the airport check-in desk, but was advised to talk to the airline staff near the boarding gate, who, in turn, redirected her to the stewards. After listening to the woman, the stewardesses said that, in accordance with the contract, they are obliged to distribute the nut mixture to first and business class passengers during the flight. The flight attendants also noted that a “food allergy declaration” by a passenger “contradicts their company policy.”
Although Sophie Draper had an economy class ticket that doesn’t serve nuts, having the allergen indoors could have been life-threatening.
To convey to the airline employees the seriousness, a friend of a young woman asked the flight attendants what they would do if his passenger had anaphylactic shock during a flight over the Atlantic. In response, the stewardess looked at Sophie and asked: “Does he know how to use your EpiPen?”
The crew of the plane then told Sophie Draper and her friend that they had to leave the plane.
In her Twitter, the woman later wrote that she was traveling home with British Airways, where they were sympathetic to the fact that she was allergic.