An airline has explained why a passenger on board was kicked off the flight for making a simple request.
BBC News’ Georgie Palmer has recalled her ‘disgusting’ experience when travelling from London Gatwick to Dalaman, Turkey, on a SunExpress flight last Tuesday (21 May).
The weather presenter was heading on holiday with her husband Nick Sollom, 48, and daughters Annie, 14 and Rosie, 12, when the incident took place.
Georgie Palmer and her family were kicked off the plane. (GMB)
When on board, she asked the crew if they could make an announcement to the rest of the passengers that her daughter Rosie has a fatal, anaphylactic allergy to peanuts.
Even without eating a peanut, just being near the food on board is enough to make her suffer a severe reaction.
Palmer said that staff ‘refused’ to make an onboard announcement and claims the way they ‘were treated was disgusting’.
“When he [the captain] found out I had spoken to the other passengers he was screaming at me from the cockpit,” she told the Daily Mail.
“He was so angry, the next thing I knew we were told to get off the plane.”
The BBC weather presenter was ‘disgusted’ by the situation.
The following day, the family took an easyJet flight to the holiday resort in Turkey, and claimed that crew made several announcements asking passengers not to open packets of peanuts on the flight.
A spokesperson from SunExpress has since hit back at the claims and made it clear that the airline ‘cannot tolerate aggressive and unruly behaviour on our flights’.
“We take the safety of our passengers very seriously. Shortly after boarding our flight from London Gatwick, the passenger raised a concern about one of his family group having a serious peanut allergy and requested an announcement to other passengers,” the statement read.
“We refrain from making these kinds of announcements as, like many other airlines, we cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment on our flights, nor prevent other passengers from bringing food items containing allergens on board.
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The airline has responded to the incident. (Getty Stock Images)
“Due to the insistent behaviour of the passenger to others on board that they should not consume nuts, the captain decided it would be safest if the family did not travel on our flight.
“When this was explained to the passenger, he did exhibit aggressive behaviour towards our crew members, and tried to gain access to the cockpit.
“To ensure the safety of our crew and our passengers on board, we cannot tolerate aggressive and unruly behaviour on our flights.
“Additionally, our website states that passengers must notify us 48 hours in advance of any special care required due to a medical condition and no such notification was received from the passengers in this instance.
“However, we are fully aware that this was an upsetting situation for the family, and we are taking the incident as an opportunity to conduct a review of the information provided during our booking process to ensure more effective solutions for passengers with allergies.”
Meanwhile, Palmer said the claims of aggression were ‘absolute nonsense’.
LADbible has contacted SunExpress for additional comment.
Featured Image Credit: GMB/Getty Stock Images
Topics: BBC, Travel, UK News, Holiday