A New York family is suing American Airlines for endangering their son on a recent flight. The family went through all precautions and say they were told prior to boarding that there would be no nuts served on the flight, however, that was not the case when they boarded.

Their 4 year old son is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts and his parents wanted a peanut, nut free flight from New York to LA. Upon check in, the gate agent checked and confirmed no peanuts would be served on the flight. According to this article, however, the flight attendant was “belittling” and rude, and nuts were sold to passengers in the main cabin, “served warm — for free — in first class.”

The family had traveled previously on other airlines, they said, where announcements were made and flyers posted, informing passengers to take reasonable precautions to keep nuts off the flights. Now they are suing American Airlines for civil rights violation and say if they are awarded any money they will donate it to FAAN.

This is American Airlines peanut policy as stated on their website:
Peanut Allergy
American recognizes that some passengers are allergic to peanuts. Although we do not serve peanuts, we do serve other nut products and there may be trace elements of unspecified peanut ingredients, including peanut oils, in meal and snacks. We make no provisions to be peanut-free. Additionally, other customers may bring peanuts on board. Therefore, we cannot guarantee customers will not be exposed to peanuts during flight and strongly encourage customers to take all necessary medical precautions to prepare for the possibility of exposure. 

Here is Delta Airline’s Policy as taken from their website:
Peanut Allergies
When you notify us that you have a peanut allergy, we’ll create a buffer zone of three rows in front of and three rows behind your seat. We’ll also advise cabin service to board extra pretzels, which will allow our flight attendants to serve only pretzels within this area. Gate agents will be notified in case you’d like to pre-board and cleanse the immediate seating area. We’ll do everything we can, but unfortunately we still can’t guarantee that the flight will be completely peanut-free.

Flying commercial airlines can be difficult for those with peanut/tree nut allergies. Even if the airlines don’t serve nuts, who’s to say someone won’t bring them on for themselves.  Keep your Epipen on board with you and stay tuned in to any possible symptoms. Try not to touch too much around you and it may be a good idea to wipe your area down with some wipes.