Children ‘terrified’ after mum’s horrific allergic reaction on board Jetstar flight
A young mum has suffered a terrifying allergic reaction while on board a domestic Jetstar flight as a result of what she believes is “leftover nut residue” – leaving her young children traumatised.
Em Lee said she did not ingest any nut residue but may have touched or inhaled the allergen while travelling on the budget airline on Monday.
The very presence of the popular airline snack was enough to trigger her allergies and cause a reaction that left her small children traumatised.
“Thanks society for pushing for your rights to be served nuts on aeroplanes, and thank you to the airlines who insist that they will never reconsider this snack option due to high demand,” she wrote in a scathing Facebook post.
“This also affects my children emotionally in a huge way.
“They were so traumatised thinking I would die on last night’s plane, despite me calmly reassuring them the whole time. They are terrified.”
A Jetstar spokesperson told Yahoo7 News they had been made aware of Ms Lee’s experience and were trying to get in contact with her.
“Jetstar does not sell peanuts and we have medical equipment on board in the event that a customer suffers a severe allergic reaction,” they said
“However we do have some inflight meals and snacks which contain traces of nuts. These meals and snacks are clearly labelled.
“As other customers may bring their own food on board, we are not able to guarantee a nut-free cabin.”
Ms Lee said having a life-threatening airborne allergy is like boarding a plane and enduring the whole flight with a person holding a loaded gun to your head.
Photos shared to Facebook, taken hours after medication was administered, show the mother’s eye swollen, however she described the reaction as “minor”.
She urged passengers to be more aware about just how fatal airborne allergies can be.
“If we could at least try to reduce the number of airborne allergens served or present in confined spaces, it would be an awesome step forward,” she wrote before revealing just how much effort goes into boarding a single flight
She said those living with an airborne allergy should carry at least three EpiPen’s, advise their airline, wipe down their seats and tray with disposable antibacterial wipes, pack a dust mask and advise the airline to have an emergency anaphylaxis kit on board.
