EasyJet bans sale of nuts on flights

The airline will also ask passengers not to eat their own nut products if an allergy sufferer is on board

FILE PHOTO: An easyJet airplane is pictured at Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Alberto Lingria/File Photo
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EasyJet has banned the sale of nuts on all of their flights to protect travellers with allergies.

The European budget airline will also ask customers not to eat products containing nuts when a passenger with allergies is on board a flight.

“We recommend that passengers inform us of their allergy at the time of booking, which enables us to pass this information on to the cabin crew operating the flight,” the carrier said on Tuesday.

EasyJet’s policy change comes after two teenage brothers were removed from a Korean Air flight last month for asking cabin crew not to serve nuts around them because of severe allergies. The airline later apologised.

This month, Julianne Ponan, who suffers from a life-threatening nut allergy, said she was treated "like a child" by German airline Eurowings for requesting a passenger announcement.

A Eurowings spokesman said he was sorry that Ms Ponan "did not feel treated in the right way on board” but excluding the sale of products containing nuts was not possible.

Eurowing’s parent company, Lufthansa, does have a rule against serving peanuts on flights but does not guarantee a nut-free environment.

Ms Ponan applauded EasyJet's decision.

"As a nut allergy sufferer, being in a enclosed space in the sky can be one of the most scariest things," she wrote on Twitter. "I commend EasyJet for making it safer for everyone to fly."

British authorities are working on stricter rules to protect nut allergy sufferers.

In February the government published a consultation on the future of air travel called Aviation 2050. In it, a passenger charter was recommended to set out clear guidelines on service.

“Passengers with nut allergies can face life-threatening challenges when travelling, which can cause significant stress and anxiety, especially for families with children,” Aviation Minister Liz Sugg said in February.

“We want to see improved clarity and consistency in how the sector deals with allergies because it is vital that sufferers have the confidence to travel.”

Allergy UK said the prevalence of peanut allergies in western countries doubled in the past 10 years and was beginning to become apparent in Africa and Asia.

One in 50 primary school-aged children in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia suffer from the allergy, it estimates.