"Could have died"

Dispute over peanut allergy: ejection from plane

The airline SunExpress had no mercy on the British family. (symbolic image)

(Bild: APA/AFP)

A British family had an extremely bumpy start to their vacation on Tuesday. Because a TV presenter asked other passengers not to eat peanuts due to her severe allergy, the entire family was thrown off the plane. 

Last week Tuesday, BBC weather presenter Georgie Palmer wanted to fly to Turkey with her husband and daughters Rosie (12) and Annie (14). As her youngest child suffers from a severe peanut allergy, she asked the SunExpress flight crew to make an announcement: The other passengers should be asked to refrain from eating this snack. "Even if Rosie hadn't come into direct contact with a peanut, she would have died if anyone on board had eaten one," Palmer explained the seriousness of the situation. 

But the crew on board refused to comply with this request, as reported by the Daily Mail. So Palmer took matters into her own hands - she spoke to the passengers in her immediate vicinity and asked them to pass on this information in a "silent mail" manner. But when the staff got wind of this, the situation escalated. 

"The way we were treated was disgusting"
The family was then asked to leave the plane shortly before take-off. "The way we were treated was disgusting. The captain decided that he didn't want to fly with my daughter on board because of her allergy," the presenter described the situation. "When he found out that I had spoken to the other passengers, he shouted at me from the cockpit. He was very angry," said the 49-year-old. 

The other passengers, on the other hand, showed understanding. "It's really wonderful how wonderful every single passenger on board that plane was, but none of the staff working on that plane showed an ounce of compassion."

Financial loss of almost 6000 euros incurred
The family eventually had to book a new flight for the next day - this time with the airline EasyJet. The airline even made several announcements asking passengers not to open any peanut packets. However, the family had to pay a high price for the new flight tickets and accommodation in the hotel at the airport: the ejection cost them 5000 pounds (around 5900 euros). The daughter would have suffered greatly from the incident: "Rosie is terribly upset, her vacation is ruined," explained Palmer.

SunExpress rejects all accusations: they could not give allergy sufferers any guarantees. "We refrain from making such announcements as we cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment on our flights and cannot prevent other passengers from bringing allergenic food on board," a statement explained. In addition, the aggressive behavior of Rosie's father was the actual reason for the ejection - but the family denies this.