BBC presenter forced off flight by ‘aggressive’ captain after raising concerns for daughter’s allergy-Emily Bashforth-Entertainment – Metro

Georgie Palmer has hit out at an airline after her family was asked to leave their flight (Picture: Instagram)

A BBC star has hit out at the ‘disgusting’ treatment she received when her family was asked to leave a flight.

Georgie Palmer, who presents the weather, boarded a SunExpress flight from London Gatwick to Dalaman in Turkey on Tuesday (May 21).

She was travelling with her husband, Nick Sollom, and their two daughters Rosie and Annie.

One of her young children has a peanut allergy, however, the staff reportedly refused to make an announcement to inform other passengers.

Taking matters into her own hands, Georgie, 49, requested that those around her do not eat peanuts and asked them to spread the message around the plane, which they did happily.

Shockingly, though, the ‘angry’ captain ordered the four off the plane before taking off.

The weather presenter was flying to Turkey with her husband and two daughters this week (Picture: Instagram)

As a result, the family forked out an extra £5,000 for an airport hotel and an EasyJet flight to Dalaman the next day.

Detailing the ordeal, Georgie later took to Instagram to vent.

‘I thanked the beautiful souls on our plane for helping us,’ she began.

‘Many of them hugged, cheered and held our hands as we were forced to disembark.

‘The SunExpress captain and cabin crew refused to make the standard announcement on behalf of our daughter.

‘We gently asked the passengers at the front of the plane to share our request.

‘Row by row, all the passengers turned back to kindly ask the row behind to please not eat nuts on the flight.

‘It was calm, earnest and with an overwhelming sense of solidarity and empathy.’

She asked the other passengers to spread the word about her daughter’s peanut allergy (Picture: Instagram)

Georgie added that there is ‘no beef with simple asks like this’ because ‘people get it.’

Alas, the family was ‘hoofed off the plane’ after the ‘angry little captain shouted at [them] from the cockpit.’

Speaking later on to The Mail, Georgie said: ‘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.’

She blasted: ‘How we were treated was disgusting – nobody working on that plane showed one ounce of compassion.’

Responding to the allegations, a SunExpress spokesperson issued a lengthy statement, stating that they ‘take the safety of [their] passengers very seriously.’

Georgie’s husband has denied being aggressive towards staff (Picture: Instagram)

They concurred that, shortly after boarding the flight, a passenger (Georgie’s husband) ‘raised a concern’ about their daughter having a ‘serious peanut allergy.’

However, the airline ‘refrains’ from making announcements of this nature as, ‘like many other airlines’ they ‘cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment’ on their flights.

‘Nor can we prevent other passengers from bringing food items containing allergens on board,’ they explained.

The spokesperson added: ‘Due to the insistent behaviour of the passenger to others on board, the captain decided it would be safest if the family did not travel.

‘When this was explained to the passenger, he behaved aggressively 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 behaviour on our flights.’

Georgie’s husband, Nick, has denied being aggressive.

The spokesperson added that their website states that passengers ‘must notify [them] 48 hours in advance of any special care required due to a medical condition.’

‘No such notification was received from the passengers in this instance.’

They concluded by noting that it was undoubtedly an ‘upsetting situation for the family.’

They are, therefore, taking the incident as ‘an opportunity to conduct a review of the information provided during [their] booking process.’

‘This will ensure more effective solutions for passengers with allergies.’

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