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Family alleges removal from Allegiant flight over nut allergy request

Family alleges removal from Allegiant flight over nut allergy request
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A Washington State woman has filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation, alleging that she and her eight-year-old son were removed from an Allegiant flight after requesting accommodations for the child’s severe nut allergies. The incident reportedly occurred because a flight attendant insisted on selling snacks containing cashews to earn commission.

The family was traveling on July 7 from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Tampa, Florida. According to the complaint, the gate agent initially agreed to check whether cashews or pistachios would be served on the flight but did not follow through. A flight attendant confirmed that such snacks would be served but agreed not to serve them upon request. However, another crewmember—identified as “Flight Attendant B”—became upset at this decision.

Flight Attendant B allegedly mocked Shelton and her son, announcing that Allegiant had no obligation to create an allergen-free environment and that cashews would indeed be served. She stated that she earns a commission on snack sales and removing the family would allow her to sell the cashews.

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Shelton claims Flight Attendant B loudly declared that Shelton was “too stupid” to understand airline policies and threatened to remove them from the plane while allegedly fabricating a narrative of unruly behavior by Shelton and her son.

The tirade continued publicly as Flight Attendant B claimed she was documenting their supposed misbehavior. Following these events, they were removed from the flight after the captain deemed them “unruly” based on the flight attendant’s report.

Stranded in Tennessee without an alternative flight for two days, the family rented a car and drove overnight to Atlanta, where they purchased new tickets. Allegiant refused to refund their original tickets, offering only flight credits instead.

Commission-based incentives for cabin crew are common in the airline industry. For instance, cabin crew receive commissions for inflight credit card signups at various airlines like Ryanair, which also enforces inflight sales quotas.

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