Bethany Roads has suffered with a severe airborne peanut allergy since she was four years old but didn’t think it would be an issue when she began planning her honeymoon earlier this year
A teacher with a deadly allergy fears she may die on her £10,000 honeymoon flight as the airline she is travelling with has said nuts will be served. Bethany Roads has suffered with a severe airborne peanut allergy since she was four years old but didn’t think it would be an issue when she began planning her honeymoon earlier this year.
The 27-year-old used a tour company to book the once-in-a-lifetime holiday to Tanzania and Zanzibar, requesting it informed the airline about her life-threatening allergies. But after contacting Qatar Airways herself, the airline has said it will continue to serve nuts on the flight.
It has also said it will not make an announcement warning other passengers about her allergy. In messages exchanged between Bethany and Qatar Airways, the airline suggested she uses sanitiser wipes and face masks and ensure she carries her epi-pen on board.
However, when Bethany stressed that serving peanuts onboard the plane could cause her to go into anaphylaxis and kill her, Qatar Airways responded that this would ‘not be intentional around [her]’. Bethany claims she even suggested making her own announcement on the flight but says the airline told her she may be ‘kicked off the plane’ for this.
Qatar Airways website states that passengers with allergies may be required to sign a waiver of liability before flying. Bethany, who is due to marry her partner of nine years, Connor Burns, in August, said they may have to cancel the entire trip due to the deadly high risk of nut exposure on the flight.
Bethany, who lives in Sidcup, Kent said: “This is a dream destination for us. It’s something we’ve both wanted to do for a long time. We wanted to go somewhere for our honeymoon that was special.
“When I’ve been on flights in the past, they’ve always said any nut products won’t be sold and informed passengers, made announcements, I’ve never had a problem until now. I thought Qatar Airways would be more understanding and accommodating of the allergy.
“My only request was that they make an announcement. I understand they can’t guarantee it’ll be 100% safe.
“I said if you can’t make an announcement can I make my own, and they told me on the phone if I do that there would be a chance I could be kicked off the flight for going against their policies. They said they would still serve them, knowing I could go into anaphylaxis. They said this would not be intentional around me.
“There’s a risk of me dying with anaphylaxis, even with two epipens with me. I would be putting my life at risk.”
Bethany said she was ‘shocked’ by the response from Qatar Airways – and insists the issue is ‘life or death’ for her. She said: “They know about the allergy and they’re choosing to do it anyway. This is life or death for me.
“I’m shocked by the whole thing. One person ignoring an announcement and continuing to eat a bag of nuts is very different to them giving out nuts to 300 people on a plane.
“It’s sent me into panic. I don’t know what to do. Do you take the risk and hope someone nice on board will accommodate you or do we cancel the whole honeymoon?
“Cancelling the trip is definitely something we would have to consider. People don’t understand what an airborne allergy is.
“They have a legal requirement to make reasonable adjustments to ensure I have a safe flight. Passenger safety is meant to be their utmost priority but what they’re saying to me is the opposite of that.”
A spokesperson for Qatar Airways said: “We do our best to accommodate passengers with allergy needs, but as our flights are open to the public, we cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment.
“Qatar Airways’ allergy policy is available online and we thank Ms Roads for notifying us of her circumstances. Our customer care team is in direct contact with her.”
