A popular weather forecaster for the BBC is speaking out after she and her family were removed from a flight after the crew refused to ask passengers to refrain from eating peanuts during the flight.
Georgie Palmer, her husband, and two daughters were set to travel from London’s Gatwick Airport to Turkey via SunExpress last week.
Their 12-year-old daughter Rosie has a severe peanut allergy. When asked, the flight attendant refused when asked to make an announcement asking the passengers to refrain from eating peanuts in deference to their daughter’s safety.
Ms Palmer had followed her usual protocol to contact the airline in advance to warn them of her daughter’s severe allergy and the potential for anaphylaxis but was unable to reach anyone.
So, Ms. Palmer did the next best thing: she politely engaged the neighboring passengers, informing them about the danger of peanuts, and asked them to spread the word.
She described what happened next when the captain heard what she had done:
When he found out I had spoken to the other passengers he was screaming at me from the cockpit. He was so angry, the next thing I knew we were told to get off the plane.
It is really beautiful how every passenger on that plane was so wonderful but nobody working on that plane showed one ounce of compassion.
We have spent the last 12 years trying to teach people about the allergy and to use epi-pens. It’s a volatile allergen and even if Rosie didn’t come into direct contact with a peanut, if somebody was eating one on board she could die.
She added:
Rosie is in a terrible state about this. It has ruined her holiday.
We don’t go away all the time, we maybe fly once a year and have never had problems with other airlines.
If we had known that policy we would never have booked with them but we have been through the website with a fine-tooth comb and there is nothing.
There was no way to tell the airline beforehand so how many people with peanut allergies will fly on SunExpress this summer not knowing the policy.
It’s been three days and we haven’t heard anything from SunExpress. Our insurance says the captain has the discretion to remove people for no reason.
Ms. Palmer emphasized the importance of standardizing allergen protocols across all airlines during her interview on Good Morning Britain:
Have you had difficulties with airlines accommodating your family’s food allergies during a flight? Let us know in the comments section below.
