During a flight by budget airline Eurowings from Düsseldorf to London, a tourist had to buy all 48 bags of nuts available on the plane to avoid a severe allergy attack. The flight attendants refused to prohibit passengers on board from buying and eating nuts, and the girl had no other choice, the Daily Star writes.
Leah Williams, from Hampshire, suffers from a severe nut allergy that prevents her from even being near the product in an open package. On the plane, she asked the crew not to sell snacks to people, and after the refusal, she was forced to buy all 48 packages herself for 144 pounds (approximately UAH 7,300), which is 3 times more expensive than the cost of a flight ticket.
“When I asked to sell me all the nuts, the flight attendants looked at me like I was crazy and said, ‘But there’s a lot of them, we’ll have to count them all.’ I said: Please count them and I will pay for them all. I was left with no choice,” said Leah.
The tourist spent a lot of money on a product that was dangerous for her and now she wants it returned. She stated: “Eurowings should be ashamed of themselves for the way they handled this situation and the way they made me feel.”
The airline’s website states: “We cannot guarantee that our meals are nut-free. We serve nuts on all our flights either as an ingredient in food or as a snack with drinks. Other passengers may bring nut-containing products on board, and traces of nut residue may end up on other aircraft surfaces and through the air conditioning system. If you have a nut allergy, we recommend that you discuss your travel plans with your doctor before flying.”
However, the airline apologized for Leah’s situation: “We are very sorry that the flight with us did not go as smoothly as planned and we are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused Leah Williams. It is worth noting: Leah Williams was not forced to buy all the packages of peanuts on board – on the contrary, our staff tried to offer her an alternative solution, informing all passengers sitting around her about Leah’s allergy. She agreed at first, but then decided to buy all the packages anyway.”
An airline spokesperson says they cannot remove all potential allergens from their planes: “Eurowings operates more than 600 flights a day, carrying more than 80,000 passengers a day. Since there are many causes of allergies and intolerances, it is impossible to exclude the possibility of their presence on board the plane. Furthermore, due to its design (shape, air-conditioning system, ventilation, etc.), it is impossible to prevent the accumulation of peanut/nut traces (e.g. remnants of a previous flight), despite regular and thorough cleaning of the aircraft.”
Other airlines, such as British Airlines, EasyJet, and Ryanair, say they will stop selling nuts and ask passengers not to eat them if there is an allergy sufferer on board. It is always important to check with the airline before booking, as some cannot guarantee nut-free meals.