Originally Posted by
Weapons Grade
Is it me being obtuse? Why deny ALL the passengers nuts, instead of non-service of nuts to the (singular) passenger who had (presumably) advised of his/her severe allergy to nuts? Over-reach or over-reaction, perhaps? Or the cabin crew were making things up as they went along?
The only allergy I've ever had is to poison ivy; not even life threatening, but it leaves (pun) me on edge whenever I'm in an area that might support it. I can imagine that anyone who has a potentially fatal allergy might be very apprehensive of even the odor of something that might kill them when they are in a location from which medical aid is unlikely to happen in a timely fashion.
While I am unsure that the odor alone would cause such a reaction, it seems like a courtesy to abide by the fear in close quarters. That said, I can enjoy peanuts plenty of other places without causing anyone any worry so if smokers can tough out a flight, I can handle missing a peanut now and then. Oddly, what I do avoid is cashews, which are from a plant in the same family as poison ivy. I started to get a reaction to those years ago and just don't feel like testing the limits.