Passenger whose son has a severe nut allergy shocked as her family is ‘removed’ from flight… so a nut dish could be served (even though BA had been warned about the issue)

• The passenger and her family had been as a result of fly from Heathrow to Dubai 
• She tells MailOnline Travel it was a ‘traumatic, terrible, horrendous expertise’
• The passenger had obtained assurances no nut meals would be served 
• But BA mentioned: ‘We can not assure an allergen-free cabin surroundings’
• READ MORE: I’m a frequent flyer and listed here are 11 ‘journey myths’… debunked

A British Airways passenger was left feeling ‘utterly devastated’ and ‘bodily sick’ after she and her family have been ‘eliminated’ from a flight – as a result of her son has a severe nut allergy and there was a meal with nuts on board the aircraft.

What’s extra, the passenger, Alice Smith*, 43, had spent days in dialog with BA arranging for her cabin on the August 24 flight from London Heathrow to Dubai to be nut-free.

Yet when BA employees found that a cashew nut meal had been delivered to the galley for the meal service, Smith claims they determined to take away her group from the flight as an alternative of the nut dish. So Smith – who has vowed by no means to fly with BA once more – disembarked, together with her husband, 50, her two aged mother and father, aged 73 and 74, and her two kids, aged 14 and 18.

They weren’t positioned on one other flight to Dubai till the following day. On their substitute flight, Smith, her husband and their sons have been downgraded to economic system seats, regardless of having paid to take a seat in premium economic system, marketed by BA as World Traveller Plus. Smith’s aged mother and father, nonetheless, have been upgraded from premium economic system to enterprise class. 

As a results of the debacle, the family misplaced a entire day of their 10-day journey in Dubai, which had been booked – together with their flights – by BA Holidays. 

To compensate, an additional day was added on to their journey ‘freed from cost’.

The vacation was a particular one for the family, as it was Smith’s aged father’s first journey after present process a coronary heart bypass. Smith was advisable BA Holidays by a buddy, and spent £15,500 on the bundle break, forking out additional on premium economic system tickets to make sure her father would be snug.

Smith’s 14-year-old son is allergic to all nuts – together with tree nuts such as cashews – and should carry an emergency adrenaline pen in case of an allergic response.

The mum-of-two, who is self-employed, first contacted BA about her son’s severe allergy on August 12 – practically two weeks earlier than their flight was as a result of depart.

Smith is conscious that the airline cannot assure a utterly nut-free surroundings, as its website states, however she alleges she was advised that they would not have any nut dishes on the menu in her cabin. She says: ‘We [were] assured by BA a number of occasions that no nuts would be served in our cabin and several other bulletins would be made earlier than take-off.’ 

When the family of six arrived at the airport to verify in for flight BA107, they have been once more reassured that no nuts would be served in the cabin, Smith claims.

Later they boarded the A380 early ‘to wash and sanitise the space’ round their seats as they often do, Smith explains. When she spoke to the crew on board about her son’s allergy, they advised her that they ‘knew all about it’ and mentioned that earlier in the day, they’d held a assembly by which they’d mentioned the precautions they’d take, Smith says.

She continues: ‘[The crew] proceeded to make 5 separate bulletins [to fellow passengers] to “please refrain from eating or opening any nuts or nut products as there is a young person on board who has a severe nut allergy”.’

Smith was impressed by the a number of bulletins and says that ‘all appeared nicely’. She says of her fellow passengers: ‘People have been handing in nuts to the crew, saying: “Oh I’ve got some, can you take them away from me.” Passengers have been beautiful.

‘We have been totally assured, totally assured. [We were] actually sitting there, prepared for take-off.’ 

However, issues took a flip once they have been handed their menus, ‘which, to [her] horror included a prawn with cashew nut meal’.

Smith says: ‘What occurred over the subsequent hour has traumatised our entire family and will not go away us.’

Feeling ‘tearful and anxious’, she says she alerted the crew to the nut dish on the menu. 

Smith alleges she was initially advised that the cashew nut dish would be changed. Then, three members of floor employees got here on board the flight and Smith was knowledgeable that it had been determined it was ‘finest’ for her family to disembark the plane, she alleges.

It was simply the most traumatic, terrible, horrendous expertise 

She notes that ‘a few of [the crew] have been so upset they usually have been beautiful… I have no idea whose choice this was to take away a family [instead of] a little carton of meals’.

Smith claims: ‘By this level, I used to be shaking and feeling very intimidated and bullied… I defined that I had my aged mother and father with us and there have been six of us.’ She additionally identified that they had repeatedly obtained assurance there would be no nuts served in the cabin, however it was to no avail – they have been requested to go away the flight, she alleges.

She admits: ‘I can not inform you the shock and horror of that feeling… I simply stored pondering this may’t be occurring. We have been eliminated, our luggage [were] taken off and my family [was] distraught.

‘I used to be in floods of tears.’

She alleges that fellow passengers on board have been ‘disgusted and mentioned how horrendous it was… nobody could consider it’.

Smith and her family spent the remainder of the day in arrivals with representatives from British Airways’ customer support staff attempting to rearrange a new flight to Dubai, she says. Eventually, a flight for the following day was organized. 

The family was supplied water, however not meals vouchers or a lodge for the night time, she alleges – a declare that BA disputes. 

Smith alleges they had no choice however to return to their Berkshire house forward of their substitute flight the following day, paying for taxis each there and again. 

There have been no points with nuts on their subsequent flight to Dubai.

Smith says: ‘Our vacation we had been trying ahead to [was] ruined. The remedy we obtained was horrific. The stress suffered has affected us all.

‘We haven’t had any rationalization for what they did to us and no regret [has been] proven.’

She plans on looking for compensation from BA finally however says she is at present ‘too traumatised’ by the expertise to navigate making a declare.

Smith says: ‘It was simply the most traumatic, terrible, horrendous expertise. It left me feeling bodily sick. I’ll by no means journey with them once more. Never – it was stunning.’

An announcement from BA disputes features of Smith’s account. It says: ‘The security and welfare of our prospects is all the time our precedence, and that is why on each flight we function we observe the suggestions of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for allergen-sensitive passengers. 

‘We clearly state in our published policy, and all correspondence with prospects, that we will by no means assure an allergen-free cabin surroundings. Our crews work onerous to restrict any threat by permitting prospects to board early to hold out extra cleaning, making allergy bulletins to all passengers and limiting the serving of peanuts. 

‘In this case, our groups labored onerous to seek out options to the points raised as soon as the prospects elected to not journey that day, providing in a single day lodge lodging, the identical flight the following day and increasing the family’s vacation freed from cost.’

The BA website says: ‘We can not assure an allergen-free cabin surroundings or forestall different passengers from bringing their very own meals on board. Meals containing tree nuts could proceed to be served all through the plane and tree-nut-based snacks may additionally proceed to be served in different cabins of journey relying on the plane kind.’

The charity Allergy UK says that ‘it is essential that airline employees are knowledgeable of a meals allergy at each alternative’ though it notes that ‘particular person airways could have their very own coverage on meals allergy administration and this may range relying on the supplier’.

It provides: ‘There is no laws thus far that determines finest apply for managing the wants of the meals allergic traveller.’

*The topic’s identify has been modified.