Nuts on board - a serious issue!

[Deleted member 29185]

I was just reading this article about a little girl who stopped breathing and nearly dies on a Ryanair flight after a man 4 rows away opened and consumed a packet of nuts.

I did a search and found this old AFF thread which was talking about this very issue........interesting and alarming for some people no doubt.

The man has been banned for life from Ryanair but I wonder if it was a case of someone just not listening to the announcements (something I confess to being guilty of from time to time as well).

 

[boomy]

If that guy was warned 3 times not to open the packet of nuts and still chose to do it I think he should pay a heavier price for knowingly risking someone's life.
Is banning someone from Ryanair can really be considered as a serious punishment?!

 

[Deleted member 29185]

If that guy was warned 3 times not to open the packet of nuts and still chose to do it I think he should pay a heavier price for knowingly risking someone's life.

That's the way the story reads, but I was thinking about this. Was the guy really personally warned three times not to chew on his nuts or were the three warnings made at separate times over the speaker system to everyone, which he may not have heard? Hard to say.

 

[opusman]

Eating nuts is not illegal last time I looked.

 

[mannej]

Not professing to be a doctor or anything, but are there any risk mitigation techniques that the family of the girl could employ to help minimize the changes of an anaphylactic reaction? I am in no way excusing the actions of the man though.
Yes there are airlines out there who have nut-free zones, but you would imagine the risk of a reaction not to be negligible.

 

[markis10]

I did a search and found this old AFF thread which was talking about this very issue........interesting and alarming for some people no doubt.

The man has been banned for life from Ryanair but I wonder if it was a case of someone just not listening to the announcements (something I confess to being guilty of from time to time as well).

There is also this thread in the QF context

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ent-flyer-program/nuts-to-qantas-39132-6.html

 

[Powerballsam]

To play devils advocate for 1 minute, where are we going to draw the line? This guys sounds like an idiot who at best didnt listen, at worst knew what he was doing and took the chance.

Is Ryanair nut free? If not then how are you going to for see a little girl getting an attack when someone does something 4 rows away. What about previous flight and cleaning crew? Are we sure that all previous fallen nuts where cleaned up? If the girl is that sensitive what is reasonable precautions?

 

[opusman]

To play devils advocate for 1 minute, where are we going to draw the line? This guys sounds like an idiot who at best didnt listen, at worst knew what he was doing and took the chance.

He was eating a packet of nuts. This is not illegal. He didn't take them and shove them down the girl's throat.

If someone is that deadly allergic to something then as they go through life they are going to be constantly in danger of exposure and this is something they (and their parents) need to deal with themselves. Expecting the rest of the world to adapt to their own unique requirements is unrealistic at best.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

This guys sounds like an idiot who at best didnt listen,

This is the part I wonder about. Was he an idiot? Some of the inflight messages are barely intelligible or audible and I find myself regularly tuning out as trying to understand the message (usually about the weather at the destination or some other mindless drivel) can at times be difficult.

 

[boomy]

He was eating a packet of nuts. This is not illegal. He didn't take them and shove them down the girl's throat.

He was asked 3 times not to open the nuts so he knew very well it can harm another passenger and chose to do it anyway.
I guess he just didn't believe it can do so much damage as he was sitting a few rows away.
Pax onboard should always listen to the cabin crew orders regardless if they think they are right or not.

If someone is that deadly allergic to something then as they go through life they are going to be constantly in danger of exposure and this is something they (and their parents) need to deal with themselves. Expecting the rest of the world to adapt to their own unique requirements is unrealistic at best.

Is it that unrealistic not to eat a certain item next to people who are allergic to it after you were told about it?

 

[Alanslegal]

We may all now judge that the parents & crew did the right thing and the man is totally in the wrong, however there is always two sides to a story.

 

[Sprucegoose]

No airline is nut free. Nuts also fly airlines. Did the girl have an epipen ?

 

[mannej]

He was asked 3 times not to open the nuts so he knew very well it can harm another passenger and chose to do it anyway.
I guess he just didn't believe it can do so much damage as he was sitting a few rows away.
Pax onboard should always listen to the cabin crew orders regardless if they think they are right or not.

The article doesn't specify whether the person was told face to face, or over the PA system. If it were the latter, there is a chance that he may not have heard the announcement rightly or wrongly.

I still think the parents should be more proactive as well if the allergy was well known to them. Prevention is better than cure right.

 

[boomy]

The article doesn't specify whether the person was told face to face, or over the PA system. If it were the latter, there is a chance that he may not have heard the announcement rightly or wrongly.

The article says "the crew warned the man three times not to open the packet of nuts" so it seems to be more of a personal warning.
I also don't think Ryanair would ban him for life if it was just an honest mistake caused by not hearing the PA announcement.

 

[mannej]

The article says "the crew warned the man three times not to open the packet of nuts" so it seems to be more of a personal warning.
I also don't think Ryanair would ban him for life if it was just an honest mistake caused by not hearing the PA announcement.

I disagree, you can still warn the man three times over the PA, or a mix of over the PA and in person.

 

[defurax]

Not excusing the guy for not listening to the crew, but I used to work dressed like that for 7-8 hours/day http://www.ehs-news.com/public/images/3M FF-400 Full Face Respirator lr.jpg
Overall: $25, Mask $300 and cartridges $50.

If I were that allergic to something, I think this is the only way to go...

 

[codash1099]

That's a pretty serious nut allergy if it's influenced from 4 rows away. I don't excuse the guy for one minute, but I do wonder how the girl gets on in ordinary life.

 

[Alanslegal]

The article says "the crew warned the man three times not to open the packet of nuts" so it seems to be more of a personal warning.
I also don't think Ryanair would ban him for life if it was just an honest mistake caused by not hearing the PA announcement.

The reporter says ryanair warned the man whilst the child's mother in her words suggest that the warning wasn't personal but rather general announcement warning. I would believe the mother's word than the reporters.

 

[boomy]

The reporter says ryanair warned the man whilst the child's mother in her words suggest that the warning wasn't personal but rather general announcement warning. I would believe the mother's word than the reporters.

The mother said there was a general announcement (probably at the beginning of the flight). It doesn't mean a specific person could not be given a personal warning a few more times later.
Bottom line, if the men didn't hear any of the announcements/warnings then it was simply a tragic mistake but I just find it hard to believe an airline would ban someone for life due to an honest mistake. It makes more sense to me that he deliberately ignored the crew's orders on a potentially life threatening situation and therefore became persona non grata on Ryanair.

 

[opusman]

I look forward to reports of masses of nut-eating commuters being banned from the tube when this girl's parents decide to take her on a train trip in the future.