Passengers with allergies have had to resort to desperate measures, even facing being forced off flights to avoid having potentially fatal reactions to common foods such as nuts.
After a BBC weather forecaster and her family were kicked off a plane by a captain after alerting staff to her daughter’s peanut allergy, it has emerged this is just the latest incident which has left some sufferers seriously ill.
One alarming instance left a 14-year-old girl in need of urgent medical treatment after she almost died on a flight when a man refused to stop eating peanuts, despite being informed multiple times of an allergy on board.
The family’s experience has sparked concern among the 2.4 million UK adults who have a food allergy, with experts warning those with severe reactions to do their research well in advance of any travel plans.
Charity the Amy May Trust, which aims to educate communities about the seriousness of allergies, is calling for more people to be aware about the risks and real dangers allergic reactions cause.
Georgie Palmer, 49, her husband Nick Sollom, 48, and daughters Rosie, 12, and Annie, 14, were ordered off the SunExpress flight from London Gatwick to Dalaman, Turkey last Tuesday after telling the crew Rosie had an anaphylactic allergy to peanuts.
BBC forecaster Georgie Palmer, 49, told how her daughter Rosie’s allergy meant her entire family was forced off the plane
Georgie Palmer (centre), 49, her husband Nick Sollom (left), 48, and daughters Rosie (right), 12, and Annie, 14, were ordered off the flight after they asked passengers to not to eat peanuts because of her daughter’s allergy
Ms Palmer has 20 years of experience in broadcasting including working as a weather forecaster for the BBC
The family had to be removed from the SunExpress flight from London Gatwick to Dalaman, Turkey on Tuesday after the captain ordered them off (stock photo of SunExpress plane)
It came after Ms Palmer said staff refused to make a standard announcement requesting passengers not eat peanuts because they had ‘updated’ their allergies policy.
Instead she asked passengers in surrounding rows not to consume any peanuts and pass the message on.
But she told how this enraged the captain who demanded they leave before the flight would take off.
She said: ‘How we were treated was disgusting. The captain decided because of my daughter’s allergy he didn’t want to fly with her on board.
‘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.’
Julie Martin, Trustee of the Amy May Trust, told MailOnline travel companies and the public need more education about the serious affects an allergic reaction can cause.
As well as being potentially fatal, they can leave sufferers with life-long injuries and even brain damage.
She described Ms Palmer’s case as ‘very sad’ and ‘unnecessary’, but said that some airlines had made significant progress in how they treat passengers with allergies.
Ms Martin said: ‘The biggest thing is to raise awareness of how serious allergies are and that they can be fatal. And the affects of a reaction can be lifechanging.
‘Food is a danger to those people who live with allergy and situations can develop rapidly. We would ask people to be conscious, to be mindful when they are consuming food outside of their controlled space at home.’
Ms Palmer is not alone in having been forced to leave a flight due to allergies.
MailOnline previously revealed how electrical engineer Sophie Draper boarded a flight with her boyfriend to New York from London in February 2022, only to be made to leave the plane due to her severe nut allergy.
Joanna Jones (right), 39, said she feared the worst when daughter Poppy (left), 14, suffered a severe allergic reaction during a transatlantic flight from London to Antigua
Poppy Jones, 14, needed oxygen and two shots of an epi-pen during a nightmare eight hour flight from London to Antigua
Ms Draper said staff at American Airlines told her they were ‘contractually obliged’ to provide nuts to passengers in business class seats.
She says her explanation was met with ‘confused looks’ by American Airlines employees on the departure gate, who asked her if it ‘would be ok if people around [her] could still eat nuts’.
After Ms Draper told them her severe allergy was airborne and she could suffer an adverse reaction, she alleges the employees scoffed at the idea of banning nuts from the plane.
When the couple raised their concerns with the head of the flight’s cabin crew, they were told American Airlines were ‘contractually obligated to serve hot mixed nuts in first class’.
Asking about a potential anaphlactic reaction onboard, the cabin crew is alleged to pointed at her boyfriend and responded: ‘He knows how to use your epi-pen, right?’
A spokesperson for the airline later apologised and said it had reached out to the couple about the incident.
Just months later, 14-year-old Poppy Jones was left needing urgent hospital treatment and had to be given oxygen on a British Airways flight from Antigua to London.
Mother Joanna Jones, then 39, described how the ‘nightmare’ unfolded after a passenger ignored flight attendants who asked him to stop eating a packet of nuts.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Joanna said: ‘It was a nightmare for all of us and I really thought she might die. It was really, really frightening and it was all down to a passenger who carried on eating nuts despite at least two announcements not to.
‘When we boarded the crew asked passengers not to eat peanuts as my daughter has an allergy but as we took off I saw a man around ten rows in front eating nuts.
Leah Williams, 27, asked staff on her flight from Dusseldorf to London to announce her allergy to passengers and request they did not buy or eat peanuts
She claims that staff on the budget Eurowings flight refused to do this, which she says left her with no option but to buy all 48 packets onboard and asking staff to bag them up
Electrical engineer Sophie Draper, 26, had been flying to JFK Airport in New York from Heathrow in December – but alleged she was discriminated against because of her nut allergy and was not allowed to board the plane
‘I was worried and asked if we could be moved but there was no availability and the crew asked him to stop eating the nuts but he ignored the requests and carried on.’
While over the Atlantic and three hours short of Gatwick, Poppy suddenly went into anaphylaxis and was saved after Joanna gave her two shots from Epipens she had with her.
The pens contain epinephrine which is a life -saving medication administered when someone suffers a severe allergic reaction.
Frantic cabin crew made an appeal for a ‘doctor onboard’ and a nurse came forward who helped carry stabilise Poppy with an onboard oxygen mask in an emergency medical kit.
Doctors were also alerted via an emergency call centre in Arizona who relayed instructions back to the captain and crew.
Joanna said: ‘The nurse who was on board and responded to a call helped us and kept an eye on Poppy’s blood pressure with a monitor but even that wasn’t working properly.
‘When we landed an ambulance met us and rushed us straight to hospital where we spent the rest of the day until Poppy was well enough to be discharged.
‘It was a horrible experience and it could have all been avoided if this man had listened to the announcements and not eaten nuts.
‘I honestly thought she was going to die and it’s now put me off flying in the future because I just can’t take the risk again.’
More recently in August, an allergic passenger spent more than £150 on nuts before her plane even took off in order to prevent any passengers being able to buy any.
Leah Williams, a 27-year-old design firm worker from Alton, Hampshire, has suffered from a nut allergy for her whole life, and asked staff on her flight from Dusseldorf to London to announce her allergy to passengers and request they did not buy or eat peanuts.
But she claims that staff on the budget Eurowings flight refused to do this, which she says left her with no option but to buy all 48 packets onboard and asking staff to bag them up.
A receipt shows she spent £168 – three times the cost of the 80-minute flight.
Julianne Ponan, an allergy campaigner and founder of Creative Nature, previously told ChronicleLive how she has not let her severe allergies from stopping her travel plans.
She advises flyers to research their plans with plenty of time: ‘When choosing the airline provider, check and print out the allergy policies. If I’m struggling to find the policy, I reach out directly to the airline to notify them of my allergies and provide them with my flight information. This ensures staff are informed well in advance.
‘There is not one standardised global airline allergy policy, which can make it difficult, and some airlines may not even have an allergy policy, or finding it on their website is a minefield.
‘Sometimes it falls under the dietary requirements area, so make sure you double check this. It will usually showcase specific meals they can offer, as well as whether they operate a peanut/tree nuts-free airline.’
She added she takes advantage of options to pre-board early, meaning she can clean all surfaces around her seat to eliminate any potential traces of nuts.
And when she arrives at the airport, she informs check-in staff and flight attendants of her allergy, and where her EpiPens are stored.
Anaphylaxis UK advises those who are travelling by plane to speak to the airline’s customer service desk in advance about their allergen policies and ‘explain to the airline the potential problems which may occur’, as well as requesting that information about the nature of the allergy is sent on to the flight crew.
Allergen policies do differ by airline, and charity Allergy UK recommends that sufferers print out or otherwise have to hand their airline’s policy for reference.
Its website adds affected passengers may want to consider travelling at quieter times and leaving extra time to arrive early, to carry out measures such as wiping down their seat if using pre-boarding.
Those with allergies are also advised to ensure they have any relevant medicines such as EpiPens, and to carry these in their hand luggage.
