A BBC presenter says she was kicked off a flight to Turkey with her family after asking passengers not to eat peanuts due to her daughter’s allergy.
Weather forecaster, Georgie Palmer, 49, was set to travel to Dalaman from London, Gatwick with her husband Nick Sollom, 48, and daughters Rosie, 12, and Annie, 14. However, after telling the crew Rosie had an anaphylactic allergy to peanuts, she claims her family was “hoofed off the plane”.
Georgie says she asked the passengers not to eat nuts on the flight, “who all turned back to kindly ask the row behind”. However, she says when the captain found out about her daughter’s allergy, he refused to fly with the family, leading to a showdown, reports the Mirror.
Recalling the drama, she said: “We gently asked the passengers at the front of the plane to share our request, and, row by row, as swift as a carefully crafted toppling domino trail, all the passengers turned back to kindly ask the row behind to please not eat nuts on the flight. It was calm, earnest & with an overwhelming sense of solidarity & empathy.
“There’s no beef with simple asks like these. People get it! The hand holding, tears & emotion from the passengers as we were hoofed off the plane after the angry little captain shouted at us from the cockpit.”
Talking to the Mail, she slammed SunExpress for their “disgusting” treatment, fuming: “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.”
Georgie and her family ended up taking an EasyJet flight to the holiday resort the following day and said the crew happily made several announcements asking passengers not to open packets of peanuts on board. However, she said they were forced to spend an extra £5,000 booking the additional flights, an airport hotel and other costs.
The presenter concluded: “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.”
A spokesman for SunExpress said: ‘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.
“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.
“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.”
Conceding the situation was “upsetting” for the family the company said it was taking the incident as an opportunity to conduct a review of the information provided during its booking process for passengers with allergies.
However, in response to the statement from SunExpress, Mr Sollom said he was “irked” by the decision to end the family’s holiday before it had started, insisting: “at no point did I behave aggressively towards any of the crew”.
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William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
