British family says SunExpress airline kicked them off flight to Turkey over daughter's peanut allergy
A 12-year-old girl and her family from Britain were kicked off a SunExpress flight from London’s Gatwick Airport to Turkey over her peanut allergy, according to the girl’s father.
Nick Sollom, 48, told The Telegraph that the airline booted him, his wife and their two children from the flight after raising concerns over his daughter’s peanut allergy and requesting that the pilot make an announcement asking passengers to refrain from eating peanuts during the flight.
"They just said the captain has refused to do this," Sollom told the outlet. "And he will not make any sort of announcement. It’s not his policy or company policy to do this."
SunExpress confirmed to Fox Business Digital that Sollom had raised a concern about his family member’s peanut allergy and that his request for an announcement to be made to other passengers was denied.
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"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," the airline said in a statement to Fox Business Digital.
The Turkish-German airline said Sollom continued to ask passengers to refrain from eating nuts, prompting the captain to take further action.
"Due to the insistent behavior 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 airline said. "When this was explained to Mr. Sollom, he did exhibit aggressive behavior towards our crew members and tried to gain access to the cockpit. To ensure the safety of our crew and our passengers on board, we cannot tolerate aggressive and unruly behavior on our flights."
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Sollom denied displaying any such "aggressive behavior" when speaking to The Telegraph.
The airline said its website states that passengers must notify the airline of any "special care required due to a medical condition" 48 hours in advance of a flight, noting that in Sollom’s case, no such notification was received.
According to The Telegraph, Sollom said that when he booked his family's travel arrangements there was no way to get in touch with the airline to give that notification, and that when they got to the airport, someone at the SunExpress check-in counter said that after the family gets on the plane, they should "please inform our cabin crew about your allergies."
The father told The Telegraph that his family was out almost $5,400 after having to book a last-minute flight with another airline.
SunExpress acknowledged the inconvenience to the family.
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"However, we are fully aware that this was an upsetting situation for the family, and we are taking the incident as an opportunity to conduct a review of the information provided during our booking process to ensure more effective solutions for passengers with allergies," the airline’s statement said.