Love Island star calls for permanent nut ban on planes after 'nearly dying' following severe allergic reaction
Love Island's Jack Fowler has called for airlines to ban nuts after suffering a terrifying allergic reaction mid-flight.
The 28 year old TV star, who is severely allergic to nuts, needed urgent medical attention upon arriving in Dubai when he went into anaphylactic shock after eating airplane food that contained cashews. Despite alerting the flight crew twice about his life-threatening condition, he was served a meal that put him in danger.
Recounting the terrifying ordeal to his Instagram followers, he explained how even after being extra cautious, he was given a chicken curry aboard his flight that unknowingly put him at risk. His situation became critical, necessitating the use of an epi-pen and five tanks of oxygen to stabilise him following the reaction.
Jack opened up further during an interview on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, 19 June. While recounting his near-death experience, he questioned the airline protocols, saying: "I really honestly trusted them and started to eat what I thought was something safe and it actually contained the one thing that I really couldn't have and that was cashew nuts, which is the worst nut for me."
Describing the moment he realised the allergy was triggered, he said: "Straight away I knew, my throat was closing up, I couldn't breathe and it was extremely scary for me. I just knew something was wrong so I stood up, I went to the air host and I said: 'Excuse me. Is there nuts in this? ' And she said no. And I said: 'But I can feel it, something's wrong'", reports the Mirror.
Jack was shocked to see his meal was a 'Creamy cashew nut chicken curry'. Expressing his concern, he said: "There's this complete negligence here. I just think: what is it going to take? What is it going to take until nuts are taken off flights completely? The amount of people in my comments on Instagram, direct messaging, saying they are completely relating to what happened, whether or not it's them firsthand, it's their friends, it might be the parents of a young child who's also got anaphylaxis to food."
He continued: "It's incredible that nuts are still served on flights. The rate of allergies in younger people is on the up. And I just feel like it's a sign of the times where people need to be looked after on these flights. Back in the day, you had some drink and some peanuts, but now things are changing and what is it gonna take?".
Jack added: "I think people need to really understand the severity of allergies and I think there's a lot of ignorance in some people."
An Emirates spokesperson told Mirror Online: "We are sorry to hear of Mr Fowler's experience and our teams on ground are providing him with all possible assistance. The safety and health of our customers is taken very seriously."
"While Emirates aims to cater to customers with specific needs by offering a variety of special meals that cover medical, dietary, and religious requirements, we cannot guarantee a nut-free inflight environment. We urge travellers with dietary or other medical requirements to check our website and consult their doctor before travel."
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