Passenger Mortified After Cabin Crew Makes Announcement About Her on Plane

A woman was mortified but grateful after a pilot made an announcement about her during a flight which turned out to be extremely important.

Angel, who gave her first name only, regularly flies commercial and recently went on her 40th flight of the year, from Phoenix, Arizona, to her home city of London in the U.K.

Flying can prove complicated for Angel, 25, who was diagnosed aged 15 with multiple allergies. She told Newsweek: "I am allergic to every single nut, nut oil, seed, seed oils, mustard, orange, strawberry and coconuts."

It's nuts that cause the most issues, as being around the smell of nuts in small areas "can set me off"—which can prove difficult when on a plane for hours.

But it hasn't held Angel back who said: "I got diagnosed with allergies when I was 15 and was a frequent traveler then so I soon learned how to adapt my life to still be able to travel even though I have allergies."

She particularly praised two airlines—Southwest in the United States and British Airways (BA) in the U.K.—for being the most accommodating while traveling. She recently shareda video of what it's like for her when taking off on a BA flight.

Posted to her TikTok account @angelljiljanalamb on December 22, it showed Angel recording herself, looking embarrassed but smiling, sitting by the window on a flight, as a voice over the intercom announced: "We have a passenger with us who has a serious nut allergy.

"We may ask that you refrain from eating any peanuts or nut snacks that you may have brought on board with you. Thank you for your help and cooperation."

Angel has serious nut allergies, and listened as cabin crew asked passengers to refrain from eating nuts. She said it was embarrassing but worth it. TikTok @angelljiljanalamb

In the video, Angel smiles sheepishly. She wrote across the clip: "Embarrassing but worth it," adding in the caption, "British Airways I love you, thank you for keeping me safe."

Angel told Newsweek she will always fly with BA if possible, even if it costs more, as the process is smooth. "They let you pre-board, talk to the crew, make an announcement, and don't serve [nuts] on the flight.

She takes extra precautions, telling the person sitting beside her "in case they open nuts before the crew has a chance to make an announcement."

"This time the lady next to me had nuts and fruit on her, and kindly only snacked on her fruit for the flight and waited to eat her nuts on her connecting flight," Angel said.

She's not always as lucky however, as she admitted: "Some people are really nice about it, and some people are rude and start making comments saying they will open their nuts anyway and [that] airborne allergies aren't real."

Newsweek has contacted British Airways for comment on this story.

Angel has learned to handle allergies while flying, having been diagnosed at 15 and regularly flying commercial. While many are respectful, she said some can make unwanted comments. TikTok @angelljiljanalamb

An estimated 11 percent of adults with allergies in the United States had some form of food allergy, according to a 2021 report from Statista.

The most common type of allergy is to pollen, including grass and seasonal allergies, affecting 44 percent of U.S. adults who report having some form of allergy, the report states.

TikTok users flocked to Angel's video, which has almost 150,000 likes. One commenter shared her own story: "They did this announcement on my flight on time and my seatmate turned to me and whispered he didn't care. I had to awkwardly tell him the announcement was for me."

Another, who works as a teacher, recalled starting a new job and asking if anyone "was allergic to peanuts before I put it into my pad thai. A teacher made fun of me for it."

But others learned from Angel's clip. One user admitted: "I had no idea that eating nuts in a space like an airplane was an issue! I can't recall the last time I ate any on a flight, but I will definitely remember this for future flights."