BBC presenter booted off flight over peanut allergy in ‘disgusting’ altercation

A BBC presenter and her family were kicked off a plane.

Georgie Palmer, a weather forecaster for the network, was with her husband and two children when they were forced to leave a SunExpress flight from London Gatwick to Turkey after she informed the crew that her daughter has a nut allergy.

Rosie has an anaphylactic allergy to peanuts and the presenter has said that SunExpress staff refused to issue an announcement and ask passengers not to eat nuts while on board. According to Palmer, this was because the airline had “updated” their allergies policy.

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She took matters into their own hands and asked those around her to refrain from eating peanuts, to which they happily obliged. However, the pilot wasn’t having any of it and forced the family to leave the aircraft before taking off.

Georgie spoke to Daily Mail about the issue and explained: “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 one that plane was so wonderful but nobody working on that plane showed one ounce of compassion.”

The BBC star said that the family have “spent the last 12 years trying to teach people about the allergy and to use EpiPens”. She also explained that “even if Rosie didn’t come into direct contact with a peanut” she “would die” if someone on board the plane ate the deadly nut.

As Palmer’s family were booted off the flight they were forced to find an alternative route and caught an EasyJet flight out the next day, during which staff made multiple announcements to alert passengers of Rosie’s allergy. Georgie’s family ended up paying a whopping £5,000 to make extra travel arrangements, which has left a particularly sour taste in their mouths.

A spokesperson from Sun Express issued a statement: “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. 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.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk