BBC presenter kicked off flight after warning passengers of daughter's peanut allergy
A BBC weather presenter has claimed that she was kicked off a flight after asking passengers not to eat peanuts due to her daughter’s nut allergy.
Georgie Palmer, 45, said she was removed from the SunExpress flight from London Gatwick to Dalaman last Tuesday along with her family.
In a post on Instagram, she claimed that staff had refused to make the standard announcement asking passengers not to eat peanuts because of her daughter’s anaphylactic reaction to them.
Instead, she said she politely asked passengers around her not to eat peanuts, which they agreed to do.
But shortly afterwards Mrs Palmer claimed that the pilot demanded that she leave the aircraft along with her husband Nick Sollom, 48, and their daughters Rosie, 12, and Annie, 14.
She told MailOnline: “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.”
The family booked an EasyJet flight to Dalaman the following day, costing them an extra £5,000 in travel expenses.
Airlines including British Airways, EasyJet, Ryanair and Jet2 say that cabin crew will make an announcement of allergies if it is requested, and they will not serve nuts.
Natasha Ednan-Laperouse died in 2016 after suffering a severe allergic reaction to sesame baked into a Pret baguette.
Her death brought about a new food safety rule known as Natasha’s Law which requires food businesses to include full ingredients labelling on pre-packaged foods.
A spokesman for Sun Express 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 behaved aggressively 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.”
Mr Sollom denies acting aggressively.
The airline added: “Our website states that passengers must notify us 48 hours in advance of any special care required due to a medical condition.
“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. We are taking the incident as an opportunity to conduct a review of the information provided during our booking process.
“This will ensure more effective solutions for passengers with allergies.”
