A woman with a severe nut allergy was left terrified after a pecan pie was being served as dessert on her flight – despite alerting the attendants to her allergy and being assured no nuts would be served.
Josie North was flying from Los Angeles back to London, and had spoken to Virgin Atlantic staff ahead of boarding to check they could accommodate her needs.
The 28-year-old was floored when, just 15 minutes into the 10-hour flight, she spotted the nutty dessert offering, and immediately called over an attendant.
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“I felt sick to my stomach,” Josie, who runs party card games business Regrettable, told Need To Know.
“There was a chance I could die if that many people around me were eating nuts all at once.
“I told him [the attendant] there was just no way this pecan pie could be served.
“This was a very scary situation for me.
“If I was told they were serving actual nuts, and everyone around me is going to be eating nuts – I wouldn’t have got on the flight!”
Josie was told Virgin are a peanut-free airline only, and she insisted on speaking to his manager.
She added: “I was very adamant that this was a very, very dangerous situation for me – especially as we were already in the air at this point.”
A spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic said “a full investigation is taking place” following the incident, which occurred last month.
Josie had tried to contact the help desk ahead of the flight, but hadn’t been able to get through, so arrived at the airport four hours early in order to ensure staff were aware of her needs.
She claims a staff member assured her that, while they couldn’t guarantee foods containing traces of nuts wouldn’t be present, no actual nut ingredients would be on the flight.
Josie said: “I felt satisfied with this response as in my everyday life I am used to cafes, restaurants and shops all saying they cannot guarantee no nuts.
“I am normally sensible and cautious when I try something new for the first time and wait a while before eating the full food item just in case I get any initial reactions.
“Her response reassured me for the flight ahead, though.”
When she boarded the flight, Josie asked the attendant to make an announcement to let other passengers know someone on board had a nut allergy, but claims they only specified a peanut allergy – while Josie is allergic to all nuts.
A “persistent” Josie insisted they do a second announcement, which they did, but shortly afterwards, she was horrified to see the nut dish on the menu.
Eventually, the captain was involved and agreed the pie should be removed from the menu and replaced with Oreos and KitKats.
Josie said: “I understand it might not be easy to eliminate anything that may have been contaminated by/made in the same factory as nuts.
“But to actively include food items that contain nuts on a flight is extremely dangerous and unnecessary.
“I’m sure most people go hours and if not days without having a single nut on land so why is it so necessary to have nuts mid-air with no access to emergency hospital treatment?
“I’m sure people would be equally as happy with a chocolate brownie or an apple crumble for their dessert!
“And there may even be children on the flight who don’t even know if they have nut allergies yet – so what is the point in serving such a common allergen?”
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson told Jam Press: “We’d like to apologise to Ms North for any incorrect information she may have received prior to her recent flight with us.
“We would like to reassure her that a full investigation is taking place.
“The health and safety of our customers is always our top priority and for any special requirements including allergies we ask that customers inform our Accessible Travel Services teams in advance of their flight.
“For the safety of any customers travelling with an allergy we would strongly encourage customers to take all necessary precautions including bringing their own subsistence on board and to prepare for the possibility of inadvertent exposure.”
