Peanut allergy nightmare: Tourist's terror on 14‑hour flight
- I was terrified - said 25-year-old Amy Pearson in an interview with Kennedy News. The tourist feared for her life when the airline staff ignored her prior requests and served peanuts, to which she is fatally allergic.
12:11 PM EDT, September 12, 2024
According to Pearson, she took a 14-hour flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to visit her sister. The trip quickly turned into a harrowing experience, all due to the airline's negligent approach.
Woman with allergy was terrified
The Briton informed Qatar Airways well in advance about her allergy to peanuts. Interestingly, even the smell of peanuts can cause the 25-year-old to have a severe anaphylactic reaction.
A representative of the airline accepted the tourist's request, so she hoped that peanuts would not be served. However, reality turned out to be quite different.
Pearson always carries an EpiPen, which is an automatic, single-use syringe with adrenaline, in case of an anaphylactic shock. However, she always hopes she won't have to use it. This time, it was close.
Tragic flight
Unfortunately, during this flight, according to Pearson, the flight attendants kept offering peanuts to passengers. When she asked them once again not to do so, she was told that flight attendants couldn't dictate to other passengers what they could or couldn't eat during the flight. Desperate and starting to feel worse, she turned to her fellow travelers. Fortunately, the other passengers agreed to her request and declined to take the peanuts.
Unfortunately, the airline is washing its hands of the situation and not taking responsibility. Qatar Airways stated that their employees "do everything possible to meet the expectations of passengers with specific needs, including allergies." However, as seen, their declarations do not align with reality. The same situation occurred on the second leg of the journey, which was operated by another airline—Malaysia Airlines.
Source: New York Post/Kennedy News
