Sophia Draper: Woman, 26, kicked off American Airlines due to severe 'nuts' allergy
A British passenger has claimed that she was kicked off from her flight to New York just because she was severely allergic to nuts and the cabin members were persistent enough to serve their first class passengers free snacks despite her request to deliver nut-free meals. Sophia Draper, 26, shared the bizarre incident in her Twitter handle and called her experience "terrible".
She was supposed to fly to JFK Airport in New York from Heathrow in December 2021 but was not allowed to board the plane with her boyfriend. Draper, who is a PhD researcher at Durham University and describes herself as an 'intersectional feminist' on social media, claimed 'blunt' American Airlines staff told her they were 'contractually obliged' to serve mixed nuts in business class.
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Draper also alleged that it was also not part of the company's policy to make public announcements about food allergies while onboard and shared her experience with the American airlines, "dangerous airline for people with food allergies,' and slammed their 'heartless' policy". Draper on her Twitter thread slammed their policies of not accepting passenger's needs and following their own set of regulations which might cause severe health problems to them.
Draper's explanation of her nut allergy was met with 'confused looks' by American Airlines employees on the departure gate, who asked her if it 'would be ok if people around [her] could still eat nuts'. As soon as she made the employees aware of her unusual allergic conditions and adverse reaction, she alleged that the employees scoffed at the idea of banning nuts from the plane. One allegedly told her: "Well, they’re not going to stop serving nuts on the aircraft… I really doubt that’s gonna happen."
Getting kicked-off an American Airlines flight because of my nut allergy (and why they are a dangerous airline for people with food allergies) :airplane::peanuts:
— Sophie Draper (@EnergySoph) February 6, 2022
A thread:
Given @AmericanAir (AA) have still yet to respond to the complaint my partner submitted over a month ago, thought I’d come to Twitter to share my nightmare experience when I was meant to fly with them from @HeathrowAirport to NYC (JFK) at the beginning of December 2021 (1/16)
— Sophie Draper (@EnergySoph) February 6, 2022
We tried to inform AA of my life threatening allergy to nuts/peanuts before flying but there is no option to inform them online. At checkin we were told to speak to airline staff at the gate — standard practice with airlines flown with in the past: EasyJet, AirCanada etc. (2/16)
— Sophie Draper (@EnergySoph) February 6, 2022
When the duo raised their concerns with the head of the flight's cabin crew, they were told American Airlines were "contractually obligated to serve hot mixed nuts in first class". Asking about a potential anaphylactic reaction onboard, the cabin crew allegedly pointed at her boyfriend and responded: 'He knows how to use your epi-pen, right? The couple was reportedly surprised by the cabin members' behavior and registered an official complaint.
A spokesperson for American Airlines said: "Protecting the health and safety of those who fly with us is our priority, and it's essential to our purpose of caring for our customers as they travel. We regret that we disappointed Ms Draper and her travel partner during this trip, and our team has reached out to apologize and hear more about their experience. American Airlines does not serve peanuts in flight, but it also said it 'can't guarantee' customers won't be exposed to nuts during their voyage."
