A mother from Northern Ireland has issued a stark public warning after alleging that Ryanair served nut products on a flight with her six-year-old son, who has a severe nut allergy, despite being informed of the condition.
In-Flight Panic Despite Prior Warning
Sarah Moore stated that she notified staff at Belfast International Airport during check-in in August about her son Teddy's severe allergy before their flight to Portugal. She repeated these concerns to the in-flight crew after boarding.
However, during the journey, passengers were reportedly served Snickers bars and packets of peanuts. Sarah claimed that no announcement was made to alert other passengers to the allergy risk, which left her feeling panicked. Her fears were realised when, an hour before landing, she noticed her son's eyes had become red and puffy, prompting her to administer antihistamines.
'My husband just had to sit with an EpiPen the whole rest of the flight, just in case,' Sarah told the Belfast Telegraph.
Airline Policy Versus Onboard Reality
In a test of the airline's stated procedures, Sarah's husband, Aaron, asked the four stewards for nut-based products and was apparently handed them without question.
Compounding the family's anxiety, the flight was so crowded that Sarah avoided taking her son to the bathroom, fearing he might come into contact with nut residue. She warned that there could have been 'deathly consequences' if her son, or any other child on board, had suffered from an airborne nut allergy.
Ryanair's official policy advises customers with allergies to inform stewards upon boarding. The airline states that passengers are notified about allergies in the pre-flight announcement and are advised that nut products will not be sold and should not be consumed. However, the airline also explicitly states it 'cannot guarantee a peanut-free aircraft'.
In response to the incident, a Ryanair spokesperson said: 'This passenger booked to travel from Belfast to Faro (15 Aug), notified crew of her son's nut allergy when boarding. During this flight, this passenger reminded crew of her son's allergy whereby all nut-containing products were immediately removed from service.'
A Wider Pattern of Airline Allergy Concerns
This incident is not isolated. In a separate case, an engaged couple with a deadly nut allergy claim they were 'forced off' a KLM flight on October 25th after crew members apparently refused to stop serving cakes containing almonds.
Pretoria Drever, 22, and Rhonan Kelly, 25, were travelling from Edinburgh Airport to Amsterdam to celebrate their engagement and Rhonan's birthday. Pretoria, who has an airborne allergy, claimed she notified the airline via an online form and again at the airport.
Despite this, the couple allege the airline refused to stop serving nut products or make a passenger announcement. They were reportedly told to either leave the plane or risk the journey, as there were EpiPens on board. Feeling 'backed into a corner' and 'humiliated', they disembarked, missing their £700 holiday.
A KLM spokesman apologised, explaining that while they can make an announcement requesting passengers not to consume nuts, they 'cannot guarantee a nut-free environment on board.'
These back-to-back incidents highlight the ongoing challenges and potential dangers faced by passengers with severe allergies when travelling by air, raising urgent questions about the consistency and application of airline allergy policies.
