No More Flying for Peanuts on Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines coined the phrase, 'fly for peanuts', but now you will have to fly Southwest without the peanuts as the airline is going peanut-free as of August 1. This decision was reportedly made in the interest of safety for passengers with peanut allergies. Southwest will now only offer pretzels on shorter flights and a larger selection of snacks on longer flights.
Believe it or not, this announcement by Southwest has been met with a wide range of reactions. Many applaud the airline for doing what it can to make flights as safe as possible for those with severe peanut allergies, while others aren't so thrilled with the lack of free peanuts in the sky.
Of course, there is no guarantee that any flight is 100% free from peanut dust as other passengers could bring their own from home to enjoy, but you would have to imagine that Southwest planes will have far less peanut dust once the nuts are phased out.
Given that so many schools and daycares are now completely nut-free, it makes some sense that an airline that is very popular with families would stop handing peanuts out to all passengers. Peanut allergies are present in only about 1% of the population, but they are one of the most common causes of food-related deaths. To put the numbers another way, if 140 people are on a Southwest flight, the odds are in favor of at least one person on the plane having a peanut allergy of some type.
If your family has been avoiding Southwest because of the prevalence of peanuts, check back beginning in August when the peanuts will be traded in for even more pretzels.