A family claims it was removed from a Turkish Airlines flight after the airline responded to its request not to serve nuts onboard due to their allergic six-year-old by insisting it would serve nuts anyway and then trying to strong-arm a liability waiver in order to let them remain onboard.
Family Kicked Off Turkish Airlines Flight Due To Their Six-Year-Old Daughter’s Nut Allergy
Eren Dervish and his family were on vacation in Cyprus. They had flown from London (LHR) into Larnaca (LCA) on British Airways and were flying back to London from Ercan (ECN) via Istanbul (IST). Ercan is the main airport in Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus. At least that was the plan.
Dervish told The Independent that he had phoned up both British Airways and Turkish Airlines a week prior to his trip and alerted them about the nut allergy of his six-year-old daughter. Both registered the concern and nuts were not served on the BA flight from London.
But upon boarding their Turkish flight to Istanbul, Dervish mentioned the issue to the crew who looked at him blankly (in my experience, there is often an English language barrier on Turkish Airlines). Dervish speaks a bit of Turkish and was able to explain the issue.
According to Dervish, the crew asked him how far away their daughter could be from eating nuts. Dervish explained that in a closed environment like an airline, it would be safest not to serve nuts at all. But the crew responded:
“Oh well, the captain and senior staff want to continue to serve peanuts.”
The conversation continued, with Dervish offering to ask each business class passenger individually if they would voluntarily abstain from eating nuts on the 90-minute flight to Istanbul. The crew refused.
A member of ground staff then boarded and motioned for Dervish to step off the airplane. There, he was told that if the family wanted to remain on the flight, he would have to sign a waiver accepting all responsibility if anything happened to his daughter.
Dervish refused to sign, the family was kicked off the flight, and Turkish Airlines refused to rebook them. The family ended up driving back to Larnaca and flying British Airways home.
There were witnesses onboard, including a reporter from the London Guardian.
I was party to this disgraceful behaviour by @TurkishAirlines.
So 1st class could eat peanuts family taken off plane (6 security waiting), crying children, no support, £2,500 for new flight from different airline/airport – beggars belief. https://t.co/yStylsaq90 @ErenDervish— Mark Sweney (@marksweney) June 13, 2022
How Should Airlines Handle Nut Allergies?
We’ve written about nut allergies before on Live and Let’s Fly in the context of American Airlines and Korean Airlines. As in those cases, my viewpoint remains unchanged.
Airlines are in a difficult position on this issue. I understand the liability and it’s not totally unreasonable to wonder why hundreds of people should suffer on account of one or two. But put it in perspective. What’s more important? Your enjoyment of a bag of peanuts or a Thai dish with spicy peanut sauce or the life of another person? As annoying as it is, I’m willing to forgo peanuts or nuts of any kind. But I also don’t want an airline to be sued if they ask other passengers not to consume their own peanut-based products they have brought onboard and that request is ignored.
> Read More: Korean Air Ejects Passengers With Peanut Allergy. Fair?
> Read More: Woman With Nut Allergy Thrown Off American Airlines Flight Because Flight Attendants Claim They Are “Contractually Obliged To Serve Hot Mixed Nuts In First And Business Class”
Here, if Dervish’s account is accurate, I think Turkish Airlines failed the family in a big way. There is a certain irony in flight attendants dressing like hospital surgeons for a year and only serving sealed sandwiches on longhaul flights for “health and safety” reasons but being unwilling to accommodate a request to forgo nuts for the same reason here.
Threatening the family to sign a blanket waiver or be denied boarding is not cool, though I don’t think a waiver is unreasonable if it pledges that the airline will not serve nuts, but cannot be held responsible for passengers who may consumer their own nuts onboard.
One other observation. I fly Turkish Airlines quite often and in my experience the carrier does not even serve peanuts on flights like this. It does serve hazelnuts, however.
CONCLUSION
These nut allergy situations are so difficult. I do understand the inherent risk in transporting someone so prone to death from ingredients that are so common. But the answer is not to deny boarding or intimidate with legal waivers. Instead, the answer is to take steps to make reasonable accommodations, treating others the way we would want to be treated if we were in a similar position.
Based upon the passenger report, how do you think Turkish Airlines handled the incident?
It just occurred to me that if the air filtration system and the HEPA filters in planes is as good as the airlines claim (in regards to COVID safety), then peanuts a few rows over should be 100% safe.
Not that I would risk it if I were allergic, though.
Probably one of the most rational comments in awhile. I completely agree. I am sympathetic to an allergy but at what point do we stop using double standards for everything. No masks because planes are very safe. But no peanuts 14 rows away because they are not. Ok? Further, in reality, no one can regulate the person behind them from opening a bag of peanuts bought at the shop before departure. Or the fact that many meals served might have some sort of peanut based whatever in it. Or the reality that on the fight before peanuts were served and their is peanut dust everywhere. To the family I say, talk to medical professionals more seriously about this and if the allergy is that severe seriously consider whether flying, or going anywhere, is right for you.
I guess you do not realize for some a nut allergy can kill. Not long ago was a story about a family also with a child with a severe nut allergy. The airline was able to accommodate them but a passenger quite a few rows away was eating nuts. A flight attendent tried to reason with him but to no avail. The man insisted he had every right to eat them. The young passenger very nearly died.
Link?
I could not agree more. To make those kinds of demands for the entire plane is just crazy. I have blood sugar issues and peanuts are often my go to snack when I have not had a chance to eat.
If they’re so worried they should have booked a private flight. Wonder how they survive living in London without riding public transport, going to sports events or the movies or eat out anywhere.
Natural selection.
It’s not a health risk, just paranoia.
Human life is not in any side of the equation.
All research shows that even with severe nut allergy, smelling peanuts is harmless. Just don’t eat it and you’re fine.
There was never a single incident where a passenger was harmed by other passengers wearing peanuts.
But maybe these parents want to be extra careful? Sure, go ahead, but don’t expect a whole plane to play along.
Turkish (sorry, Türkiye Hola Yalla) is right to insist on catering the flight as planned, and even more right in not allowing a passengers to harass the others one by one.
absolutely agree. This reeks of self importance and entitlement (asking passenger 1 by 1 “will you not eat nuts to spare my child’s life?) ridiculous. I wonder if they ask the same thing in other public areas (grocery store, restaurant, transit)
I totally agree. The family could have absolutely on their flight as scheduled..but they refused to sign a waiver…I do not blame Turkish for not wanting a sue happy passenger on board..
You can eat nuts ,but you could never pee nuts
So sign the document if you want to travel. Turkish are going to be responsible for some kid in 32E who opens his bag of nuts? Where did all these allergic people come from?
Guess what moron, you can develop a food allergy at ANY age. It can also change ove times. I developed an allergy to tree nuts beginning at age 25 to hazelnuts which has over the years progressed to all tree nuts. I’m fine with peanuts since they are actually legumes. So to answer your question, people with allergies come from everywhere. I have to always carry an epipen just in case because nuts are everywhere nowadays especially with the rise of nut based milks and cheeses. So give the kid some slack especially since it was only a 90 minute flight.
go to google NGRAM and type in NUT ALLERGY. You see it did not become common until 1990+.
Stop crying, start questioning WHY. Experiment, make changes.
How about you don’t fly commercial if you have the problem? My youngest is super hard to deal with and run around barefoot on commercial flights. So we’ve been chartering when we fly with her to not annoy people around us or just leaving her at home. Be considerate of others.
Wow, really?!?! Reading these comments I’m shocked at the lack of empathy for another human. How did we get to this state where people have become so disgusting.
Would it kill to refrain from eating nuts on a flight? No. Would it kill someone with a peanut allergy? I don’t know, but even if it wouldn’t, I’d without hesitation gladly refrain from eating nuts to ensure my actions don’t needlessly endanger someone else. We’re not taking about sacrificing a kidney here.
You’re shocked by this? If I’ve learned anything the last two years it’s that the average person would happily sacrifice as many strangers as needed to ensure they are in no way even the slightest bit inconvenienced.
And to all the smart ass comments about wearing a mask, there is also concern about skin contact from surfaces. Of course wiping all surfaces would help with that, but I don’t begrudge the parents for being worried about the safety of their child.
If the parents are that worried about the safety of their child they should have planned better instead of surprising the staff at boarding time.
According to the article they did plan in advance by calling both BA and TK.
You should read the article before posting.
The parents called both BA and THY before the flights.
BA accommodated and refrain from serving nuts, like any civilized airline would do.
People would be much more sympathetic if it was a real problem.
But as a matter of fact it isn’t.
Food allergy is very real, but you have to eat the food in order to be affected, not smell it or see it out think about it.
I fully support their right to protect their daughter from eating peanuts.
The airline should avoid serving peanuts to them and provide reasonable alternatives (of contacted in advance). This is a real issue that deserves real consideration.
I understand that the parents’ fear is also real. They’re really afraid of an unreal problem. Did it mean everybody should play along?
> How did we get to this state where people have become so disgusting?
Social media.
I, as a passanger, would gldly refrain from eating nuts for any length flight. As an airline who can’t control the behavior of the rest of passengers, I don’t know. I don’t think the airline is doing this from spite.
I don’t blame the airline. The family could have flown by signing the waiver and putting a mask on their girl. KN95s supposedly work, don’t they? It is crazy how it’s expected that everyone accommodate 1% of the population by depriving themselves with an example of this or eliminating pronouns that work for 99.8% of people.
Whatever the case, this looks like a nice family and I hope those pretty kids grow up with good sense, a support for freedom, and at least some traditional values. Let’s hope those kids stay away from no go zones and recognize which groups cause the problems.
You will once again have to excuse my pedantry. It’s the Manchester Guardian!
I think China’s social credit system is useful in this case. A family that has donated a lot of money to charity or done many selfkess deeds for society deserve consideration for their request to refrain from serving nuts. A family that has done nothing and feels entitied should not expect people to sacrifice for them.
And of course if they have popped out more than two kids the parents should be castrated at the boarding gate itself before being allowed to make any requests.
Thanks Amy, very good sensitivity in people needing to do everything possible within their powers to look after themselves, especially given the risks.
The unwillingness of the parents to sign the liability waiver left the airline with no choice,.
I note fhe ability of the crew to advise all passengers that certain passengers aboard have allergies and to refrain from eating (tree) nuts or legumes would have helped reduce the risk, but not totally due to the potential of nuts in the mrals being served.
Therefore rather than blaming the airline crew or policy, or the parents response, self management by the parents to do whatever is necessary (ie masking, sanitizing and traveling with an epipen) would seek most reasonable and appropriate course of action.
I’m very surprised because I’ve been on quite a few flights on Turkish where they made the announcement that they would not serve any peanuts and were asking passengers not to consume any peanuts during the flight due to a passenger with allergy.
I’m wondering if they changed the policy or if above is just a misunderstanding
They should have booked BA on the way back as well instead of surprising the staff at boarding time.
Don’t blame Turkish Air.
The family is Turkish, they likely would stay in turkey for a while before returning to UK
Attention seeking parents, its the very least about their daughter. Its borderline factitious disorder imposed on another (or known before as Münchausen by proxy syndr.)
Did BA not serve nuts on the return leg?
Most of these allergies thought to be “severe”, are not severe at all. You are more likely to get cancer from the excess radiation from flying at cruise level, than even from smelling peanuts.
But in the end, the family can rave to their relatives and friends about how great they are, how much they care about their kid, and how perfect parents they are.
How about a passenger who’s allergic to coffee, should the airline be expected to not serve coffee?
How about a person who’s been diagnosed with enochlophobia or agoraphobia, should the airline be expected to fly an otherwise empty airplane for that person?
There is a point at which one individual’s restrictions, even if a disability, becomes too much of an imposition on too many other people.
That may be, but on the other hand, is forgoing hazelnuts on a 90-minute flight really that unreasonable. I’ve seen a person with a nut allergy have a severe reaction. Scary stuff…
Did they get the reaction from eating peanuts or evening them?
Food allergies are real and dangerous. People fire from eating stuff you and I eat every day.
Food allergies triggered by smell are a phobia.
Why couldn’t the kid just stay and just NOT EAT NUTS?
Biologically, peanuts are not actually “nuts”—they are legumes (beans). For marketing purposes, they were branded as nuts because they were cheaper to produce than tree nuts but could be sold with the allure of actual nuts because of their visual and taste similarities. You can be allergic to peanuts, you can be allergic to tree nuts, and you can be allergic to both peanuts and tree nuts. But how many people assume that peanuts are the same as real nuts just because a marketer decided to name them as such? So maybe people with peanut allergies should start demanding that all legumes also be prohibited on their flights? I.e., no soy products allowed, either.
Türkiye Hava Yolari*
The article says the family flew back to the UK on British Airways. Did BA remove all the peanuts from that flight? Just curious
Yes, they did.
This is always an unpleasant discourse, since the question is whether society should change for the individual or vice versa. Not being either a doctor or an allergy specialist there’s a lot that I simply don’t know about the subject. I do have a solution although I’m not certain that it’s medically effective. Why not have the girl wear a N95 mask for the 90 minute flight? Between that and the hepa filters aboard she shouldn’t be subjected to nuts and an entire planeload of people isn’t put out for one person.
because that would not make them “special” and martyrs. This is an attention getting ploy that will escalate if we give into it.
A key point of this situation is the reported severity of the condition. I am a doctor, and I do have some expertise in allergy– not claiming to be the expert of experts here, but I have run two practices that offered allergy testing and treatment, so I don’t think of myself as being at the bottom of the educational spectrum on this topic. I also have a daughter with a tree nut allergy. We travel with 2 epic-pens. We also keep and eat loads of tree nuts in our home, for the non-allergic members of the family.
Food allergy is a real thing, and the responses and experiences people have with allergies vary significantly in severity. The last time my daughter ate an almond containing product ( 2 bites of a heath bar) nothing happened. When she ate a cashew she got hives.
When someone gets to the point that their allergy severity is such that the mere presence of a nut several feet away constitutes a substantial risk to their health, this would constitute a situation of dramatically exceptional severity and rarity. There are exceptionally severe medical conditions for which shared commercial air travel is inadvisable, and if this level of peanut allergy exists, it would be such a condition in my opinion.
For additional consideration:
https://www.aaaai.org/allergist-resources/ask-the-expert/answers/old-ask-the-experts/peanut-air-travel
URI seems to ‘know it all’ about allergies. Not!
Unfortunately, I have a severe reaction to airborne peanuts. I fly sparingly, my husband cleans the area around my seat preboard, I have a service dog that smells for peanuts and alerts me to their presence, AND carry two epinephrine pens ( along with other rescue meds ) everywhere I go. My highly esteemed allergist told me that even a gas mask would not protect me from tiny peanut molecules!
I also don’t want to disrupt anyone’s trip. Fortunately, most fellow passengers are quite obliging and don’t want their travel disrupted by a medical emergency onboard. Thanks to the kind souls I’ve traveled with, for caring about me!
If you are worried, wear a KN95 mask. It filters out particles much finer than peanut dust.
How would they ensure someone among 300 passengers would not eat a peanut chocolate or bar? I understand their concerns but if the kid cannot stay in an environment that may contain nuts then they need to find a way to be safe but not request a nut free airplane. It is very different when the kid cannot eat but not be around nuts is almost impossible.
Good. If I’m travelling business class I don’t want some 6 year old with a potentially life threatening allergy ruin my enjoyment of nuts. They pair really nicely with the Vina Sol on offer. I mean come on, who does he think he is spoiling (albeit unintentionally) it for us Business class passengers! Well done Turkish Airlines.
If a child is that sensitive to nuts, then the parents should find their own safe passage away from others. What if the airline complied, but a passenger unaware of the issue had their own bag of nuts, and began eating them, not intending any harm but oblivious to the child’s plight? No parent can insulate their child from every potential harm in the world, but reducing the potential harm to their child to a reasonably manageable risk is their responsibility, not the airlines.
Responsibility is on both sides. Nut allergies can be treated to the point of desensitization and he should see an allergy doctor before they attempt to take any more trips. Or bring an epinephrine medication on his trips from now on.
There’s something not quite right about this story. If you fly into LCA it would be a very foolish thing to do to leave the island through ECN as the Greek authorities would deem you have left the island illegally and there would be an issue on any future arrival. No one in their right mind would book this itinerary. If you want to leave through ECN, make sure you arrive there or else you have a problem.
I did the same thing when I went to Cyprus. Have t been back since. Wonder if they think I am still there?!
The kid should have worn a specialized mask. We’ve been getting used to that lately …
Flew on DL two weeks ago where they made an announcement that a passenger had a chocolate allergy and that all on the plane would have to refrain from consuming chocolate products. First peanut dust….now chocolate dust? Give me a break. It’s all for “visuals” since no one on the plane went into anaphylactic shock when they brought out the snack basket which contained lo and behold chocolate products. I’ll go back to my example that I am allergic to cats. Should those on the plane who own cats have to use a lint roller before getting on the plane to accommodate my allergy? I don’t have a problem, most of the time, accommodating others. What I have a problem with is the people who get on the plane and expect everyone to cater to them, through a hissy fit when the crew tells them the exact same line that airlines publish online that “they cannot guarantee nut free flights”, and then run to social media and act like their whole vacation was ruined because they were taken off the flight and had to wait until the next day, had to sleep in the airport, their precious child saw a nut on the dirty airport floor they slept on 6 feet away and had an allergic reaction, they couldn’t get their checked bags off the flight which somehow had the allergy medication roamed the airport looking for help and couldn’t find it and then resorting to paying $15 for benedryl and it solved the problem, oh and they and weren’t assigned seats together on the flight that the airline rebooked them on. When in reality 1) they booked the last flight of the day, 2) they didnt pay for seats together in the first place, 3) they could have stayed at a hotel overnight but didn’t want to pay because it was the airlines fault, need I go on?
I think it is completely out of proportion to demand that the catering on board be curtailed for the benefit of a single traveler. Where does this stop? There are all sorts of allergies, phobias etc. out there, if every single passenger is allowed to force their demands on the rest this is untenable. If air travel constitutes a severe health risk for you, you should yourself either take the necessary precautions (e.g. masks, medication, therapy) or arrange a private flight or, indeed, take a vacatuon in a place you can reach without boarding a plane.
Do we have to comply with the public court of social media. By all sympathy for their daughter, it doesn‘t entitle the parents. There are other public places more close to their home, What are the parents doing there?
There tons of laws, rules, and restrictions already, because somebody intended to make the world a safer place.
I agree with the general opinion, that it is up to the parents to exercise self discipline and self management.
It’s up to parents to make the preparations for a safe travel of their daughter. The first step is to decide, if their means of travel is agreeable with the allergy of their daughter. Making a phone call to the airline and off-load any and all responsibility is rather cheap, naive. At the end going public with the issue, since they didn’t get their ways, is a continuance of their initial behavior.
Bottom line the story is a sensation hungry journalist publishing only the sensational fraction of the whole issue to get noticed by the public. There is no info about the severity of the allergy, nor is there any info about the preparations done by the parents to ensure the safety of their daughter during the air travel. The article is one-sided, sensational. It’s not helping other minorities like diabetes, nor will it make a change in air travel. There is also no information at all, what parents of children with allergies should do upfront of a travel by public transportation (bus, train, plane, etc.). This cheap journalism!