Sit in the loo: Emirates tells Indian-origin siblings with acute nut allergies

London: Two Indian-origin siblings, with severe nut allergies, were allegedly told by an airline to "sit in the loo" while the cashews were being served on the flight, media reports said.

Shannen Sahota, 24, and Sundeep Sahota, 33, said they informed Emirates Airlines thrice about their allergies.

But just after 40 minutes into the flight from England's Birmingham Airport to Dubai, the cabin crew started serving fried nuts, leaving them "panic stricken", Daily Express reported.

The two claimed that they told the Emirates staff on "multiple occasions" about the severity of their condition when booking, checking-in and upon boarding the flight from Birmingham Airport.

However, when they scanned through the flight menu they found that it has chicken biryani with fried cashew nuts, the report said. Just before the meal service began, the Emirates staff, they said, asked them to shift to a toilet with cushions and pillows to avoid discomfort owing to their allergy, the report said.

Furious over the suggestion given by the airline staff, the two spent the next seven hours in the flight sitting at the back of the plane with blankets covering their face.

"We were stunned when a supervisor told us 'one way round it' was for us to spend the flight in the cabin loo," she said.

"We felt so degraded and embarrassed - it was horrible and it was meant to be a happy occasion but the start of our holiday was ruined," said Shannen, an analyst from Wolverhampton.

Sundeep, a contracts manager, said Emirates ignored all the information they had given them.

The airline, however, claims the booking records do not reflect any mention of an allergy and it can never guarantee nut-free flights.

"We are sorry to hear about Sahota's complaint. Emirates tries to cater to all passengers specific needs by offering a number of special meals that cover as many medical, dietary and religious requirements as possible. However, Emirates cannot guarantee completely nut-free flights," the airline said in a statement.

"We've looked into Sahota's booking and our records do not reflect any mention of a nut allergy. All passengers who alert us of a nut allergy prior to travel are informed of our policy and it is also outlined on our website here."