A British family say they were "kicked off" a flight in the UK as the captain and cabin crew refused to make accommodations for their daughter's severe peanut allergy.
Nick Sollom, 48, told The Telegraph that he, his wife and their two children were removed from a SunExpress flight at London's Gatwick Airport after he asked the crew to take his 12-year-old daughter's allergy into consideration for the three-and-a-half-hour journey to Dalaman, Turkey.
Sollom claimed the family is now almost £5000 (NZ$10,400) out of pocket due to making last-minute bookings with another airline and changes to their accommodation.
"It's just unbelievable that in 2024 this can happen. Just amazing," the father-of-two told The Telegraph.
He explained that his daughter, Rosie, cannot be near peanuts as it can cause her to suffer anaphylactic shock - a life-threatening allergic reaction that can be fatal if not immediately treated.
Anaphylaxis prompts the immune system to release a flood of chemicals that causes blood pressure to drop suddenly and the airways to narrow, which can stop the person from breathing.
Sollom said their issues began when they were unable to notify SunExpress about Rosie's allergy while booking their tickets.
Upon arriving at Gatwick Airport, Sollom said SunExpress staff told him at check-in to inform the cabin crew of the allergy, as per the instructions on the airline's website.
But Sollom claimed the cabin crew "didn't really care" when he asked if an announcement could be made requesting passengers to refrain from eating nuts for the duration of the flight.
Instead, Sollom said he was told that the captain refuses to make such announcements as it was "not his policy or company policy to do this". When he asked if he could speak to the captain in person, Sollom was told that "the matter was closed".
He and his wife - BBC weather presenter Georgie Palmer - then decided to take matters into their own hands, with the couple asking the first two rows of passengers to refrain from eating peanuts to ensure their daughter's safety.
He said word had already spread thanks to a couple seated behind them, who began passing on the message after overhearing their exchange with the cabin crew.
But their efforts quickly proved futile after the captain "caught wind that communication had been made to other passengers", Sollom told the outlet.
"He just said, 'right, bags off, kick them off'," he claimed. "I think tensions were building within the cockpit because we weren't sat down. They just said, 'you've gotta go, you've gotta go'."
Talking to the Daily Mail, Palmer described their treatment by the airline as "disgusting", adding: "The captain that 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."
Twelve-year-old Rosie told The Telegraph she was treated like she "had done something wrong" for having a severe food allergy.
"Rosie is in a terrible state about this. It has ruined her holiday," Palmer said.
In a statement to local media, a spokesperson for SunExpress said the airline refrains from making announcements regarding food allergies as they "cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment" on board.
"Shortly after boarding our flight from London Gatwick, Sollom raised a concern about one of his family group having a serious peanut allergy and requested an announcement to other passengers," the spokesperson said.
"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."
The spokesperson also claimed Sollom had exhibited "aggressive behaviour" towards crew members and "banged" on the cockpit door in an attempt to access the flight deck, an allegation he has denied.
The statement added that the airline was reviewing "information provided during our booking process to ensure more effective solutions for passengers with allergies".
SunExpress is a Turkish-German airline founded in 1989 as a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa.
According to Allergy New Zealand, around one in 10 infants have a food allergy by 12 months of age. While some outgrow their allergies (mainly to milk and eggs), it's estimated 6-8 percent of school-age children and 2-4 percent of adults have a food allergy.
Symptoms of anaphylaxis can include difficulty breathing, swelling of the tongue, swelling or tightness in the throat, wheezing or a persistent cough, difficulty talking, persistent dizziness, and loss of consciousness and/or collapse.
