A woman presented a note to flight attendants warning that she was highly allergic to the smell of coffee, cashews, jet fuel, and fragrances. How should a passenger like this be handled?
No Coffee For You: Woman Tells Flight Attendant She Is “Highly Allergic” To Smell Of Coffee
Can you imagine stepping onto a flight and having a seatmate who hands a note like this to flight attendants?
She not only says that she is highly allergic to the smell of coffee (I doubt it…), but of cashews, cologne, perfume, scented soap, body lotion, gasoline, and airplane fuel. To address these concerns, she demands that nuts and coffee not be served on the flight.
I have a cashew allergy so if you could refrain from serving nuts I would appreciate it.
I am highly allergic to the smell of coffee and would appreciate it if you could refrain from brewing coffee. As even the smell can stop my breathing.
Right…and the smell of narcissists sends me into cardiac arrest.
View From The Wing correctly points out that the passengers are not nuts!
She also asks for a large bottle of water:
I also have several medications that I need to take and as a result drinks a lot of water. If you could spare a large bottle from the onset of the flight that would be greatly appreciated, this way I don’t have to constantly ask you for more water.
Who does she think she is, an off-duty flight attendant? (I cannot count how many flights in which off-duty flight attendants are proactively handed 2L bottles of water from their working colleagues)
Ok folks, maybe I’m just in a bad mood over the AF1 controversy, but how do you handle a passenger like this? You deny her boarding. While I am highly sympathetic to those with tree nut allergies, this is something far different…and since it’s rather impossible to fully avoid nuts, coffee, and any scented fragrance on a crowded flight without advance notice, it’s best to keep her off the plane…for her own safety, of course.
Accommodation laws do not apply when they threaten the safety of the disabled passenger or others onboard. The key is reasonable accommodation, not limitless accommodation. An airline may refuse to provide transportation to any passenger on the basis of safety, as provided in 49 U.S.C. 44902 or 14 CFR 121.533.
It’s just too much here…it’s the sort of liability that an airline should not have to take on.
Hat Tip: View From The Wing
I’ve always supported the position that women other than pilots and FAs should be banned from flying. Turn every flight into UA’s Businessman Specials from the early 60s, and bring back smoking sections. It’s entitled trash like this that gives support to this position.
Come on, now.
Er…so what does she does do when the plane is sitting on the tarmac getting refueled and the smell of the fuel sometimes wafts into the cabin? Demand they stop fueling the plane immediately?
Seems simple to me. They should just thank her for letting them know about her allergy list and tell her they can not accommodate her. She is welcome leave the plane and find some other means to travel.
Sounds like she needs to refill her Haldol or Thorazine.
Sorry sweetie. Antihistamines and epinephrine ASAP!
Kamala voter, 99% chance.
I don’t understand how she can make it waiting in the terminal for her flight. Lots of people drinking coffee, eating nuts, and I often smell jet fuel in the terminal. Not to mention how many people wear perfume and cologne.
Ugh… A friend who’s an anesthesiologist had one of these people a few years back; also a woman, coincidentally; who claimed to be highly sensitive to electromagnetic radiation. She presented a whole list of demands, such as no electronic monitoring equipment (impossible), no fluorescent or LED lighting in the OR or recovery (also impossible), and for all staff to be “earthed” prior to touching her or her surrounds. When told that this was not going to happen because providing a two-hour general anesthetic without electronic monitoring would be dangerously and recklessly negligent, she became absolutely hysterical. Thing is, these folk truly believe that their imagined maladies are responsible for whatever suffering they’re ensuring, and they’ve often been led along in that belief by irresponsible health-care providers (“environmental medicine” physicians, this is you) who should know better. Referral to a psychiatrist would be more useful.
How would I have dealt with this woman on the flight? I’d have told her that her demands were unreasonable, and invited her to leave the aircraft before the door was closed. Jumping through hoops to please them only entrenches their cognitive distortions even further.
“Sorry, but we are unable to accommodate these requests. Would you like to deplane?” BTW, today’s special is coffee with cashew milk.
I did not see a single demand in the letter- only “if you could refrain it would be appreciated”, and ” thanks and appreciation at the end”.
SHe needs to drive and not pass any coffee shops!!! Nuts
Agree, denied boarding is the only way. “We’re sorry but there’s no way we can guarantee your safety in light of these unfortunate allergies, we will have to deny you boarding to keep you safe”.
Hopefully she doesn’t get a whiff of jet fuel when leaving the airport… it might cause her to keel over.