BBC presenter kicked off flight by 'screaming' pilot after warning passengers of daughter's peanut allergy
BBC weather presenter Georgie Palmer has told how she was kicked off a flight from London to Turkey by a 'screaming' pilot after she told her fellow passengers about her daughter's allergy to peanuts.
Georgie Palmer, 49, her husband Nick Sollom, 48, and daughters Rosie, 12, and Annie, 14, were told to disembark the flight following the incident, with Georgie taking to social media to berate the SunExpress airline. She revealed how the pilot and cabin crew "refused to make the standard announcement on behalf of our daughter" leading her to inform the other passengers about the nut allergy and ask them not to consume them - which she said they obliged with.
She said: "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 plan was so wonderful but nobody working on that plane showed one ounce of compassion.
"We have spent the last 12 years trying to teach people about the allergy and to use epi-pens. It's a volatile allergen and even if Rosie didn't come into direct contact with a peanut, if somebody was eating one on bored she would die."
On Instagram, she posted a snap of the smiling passengers, who she described as "beautiful souls" as she went into more detail about what happened.
She wrote: "The moment I thanked the beautiful souls on our plane for helping us -many of whom hugged, cheered & held our hands - us as were forced to disembark…..discriminated against for simply having an allergy - @sunexpress captain and cabin crew refused to make the standard announcement on behalf of our daughter (they have “updated” their policy around allergies) asking people not to eat nuts on the plane before we took off (we’ve got over a decade of experience requesting these).
"So, instead, on the advice of the airline reps, 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….
"What @sunexpress clearly lack is the understanding that we are savvy. 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……people are (mostly) kind.
What happens next? Watch this space. Also, not seen in this photo, thanks to the woman who amongst the genuine compassion as we walked away, stuck two fingers up and told us to “get the f*** off” #watchthisspace #severeallergies #anaphylaxis #discrimination ".
OK! has contacted SunExpress for comment.
