British Airways 'bullied' family of girl, 5, with severe allergy into leaving plane after father asks airline not to serve nuts during flight

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Andrew Hyams said he got off the British Airways plane because he feared for the safety of his six-year-old daughter Mollie

A father whose six-year-old daughter has a life-threatening nut allergy says his family was ‘humiliated’ and ‘bullied’ into leaving a British Airways flight after asking staff not to serve nuts.

Andrew Hyams, 42, claims cabin crew refused his request and were arrogant, snobbish and showed no empathy as he and Mollie and his girlfriend Suzy attempted to fly from Heathrow Airport to Larnaca, Cyprus, for a holiday in August.

Vowing to never fly with the airline again, Mr Hyams said he attempted to reason with staff but a customer relations manager told him their luggage was being unloaded and ‘we are BA and we do not change our service for anyone’.

Mr Hyams, an account manager from London, said they had no choice but to leave the plane and book with a different airline that has previously accommodated his requests for nuts not to be served during a flight.

When he arrived at Heathrow, Mr Hyams said he spoke to British Airways staff who were not familiar with the company’s policy on passengers with severe nut allergies, but told him an announcement on board the plane would be OK.

He admitted he was not aware the airline serves cashews – which he described as ‘my daughter’s killer’ – with its drink service.

But after boarding the flight, Mr Hyams said his family was approached by the head cabin steward, who informed him ‘there was nothing they could do’ to help.

British Airways said on-board announcements cannot be provided as they are not part of its peanut policy. However, the airline has posted on Twitter in the past indicating that cabin crew can make an announcement about a nut allergy.

Mr Hyams carries an EpiPen at all times in case his daughter, Mollie, who was five years old at the time of the incident, goes into anaphylactic shock.

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Six-year-old Mollie Hyams has a life-threatening nut allergy 

BA has been criticised for refusing to make an on-board announcement about a child's allergy (file photo)

BA's response to a question on Twitter from Alicia Kennedy - member of the House of Lords and Labour Councillor for Brockley - in which the airline said it would make an announcement on board a flight

He said he begged staff to change their mind but after speaking to ‘rude’ and ‘arrogant’ employees he decided to disembark and delay the holiday for his daughter’s own safety.

He said one of the employees ‘berated’ them and upset his daughter and girlfriend while discussing Mollie's ‘chances of death’ and the use of an EpiPen while flying 35,000ft in the air.

His daughter, who also has a dairy allergy, still talks about the incident.

‘She still asks questions about it. She was scared after that, asking if everything contains nuts.’ 

As the discussion continued at the back of the plane, he said he was surrounded by four cabin crew and ‘it felt like I was being bulled and ganged up on’.

Andrew Hyams was 'forced to leave' a flight along with his daughter Mollie - pictured 

In an email to British Airways, he wrote: ‘Eventually I was allowed to talk and said that I understood that they could not guarantee a 100 per cent nut-free environment (no one can) but asked if they would reduce the risks by not serving the bag of nuts. I even said I would buy those passengers that minded another snack instead.’

That’s when he said he was informed that the request would not be accommodated and his bags were being removed from the plane.

He said staff gave the family the option of remaining on the flight despite having no understanding of allergies, but he refused to take the risk and was further embarrassed after the family disembarked.

Mr Hyams said a staff member marched him back onto the flight to collect his bags but he was ordered to sit down while staff ‘checked the area for any illegals’ and was then marched off the plane.

He wrote in the letter to the airline: ‘I felt like a criminal at best and a terrorist at worst and all this in front of over 200 people, humiliating. We were then walked to arrivals to collect our bags and left with no one telling us where our bags would come out and how long it would be. 

'Luckily we were sat by the belt they came out of.’

He added: ‘What we experienced once we had walked on the plane and informed the cabin crew about the nut allergy was not only unprofessional but a complete disgrace and embarrassment for British Airways.’

Mr Hyams said he was attempting to fly with BA for the first time in more than 15 years after ‘a number of bad experiences’ with staff and delays.

When they flew to Cyprus with easyJet four days later, the family said staff did not serve any nuts and they made an announcement asking passengers not to open any packages containing nuts. Mr Hyams said the incident cost him around £2,500 and shortened his holiday by three days. 

 

In a statement, British Airways told MailOnline: ‘We are sorry that Mr Hyams and his family felt our crew were not sympathetic to their needs.

‘We do our best to accommodate the needs of all our customers, and our crew explained our policy and the reason for it.

‘We don’t use peanuts in our meals but we are never able to guarantee a nut-free environment on any of our flights, as allergens could remain in the air from previous flights or customers could bring their own food on board.

‘We advise customers who suffer from allergies and need to carry emergency medication to inform cabin crew and those travelling with them, or sitting next to them, but we are not able to make announcements as we can never guarantee a nut-free environment.’

Mr Hyams carries an EpiPen at all times in case his daughter, Mollie, goes into anaphylactic shock

Mr Hyams said he and his partner complained to BA but did not receive a response until three weeks later.

He provided MailOnline with copies of two emails – one from a BA customer service representative and a follow-up from the office of executive chairman Keith Williams.

The customer service rep informed Mr Hyams that the airline received reports from the employees involved and would not offer a full refund because it was satisfied that staff had followed existing policy.

Mr Hyams said he never requested a refund. 

The customer service rep wrote that British Airways cannot guarantee a nut-free environment, even with an announcement, because it has no control over what other passengers bring on board, adding that requests for nut-free flights are ‘politely but firmly rejected’. 

Mr Hyams said he booked with a travel agent and informed British Airways by telephone that his daughter is allergic to nuts, but the customer service rep told him the computer system had no record of the conversation.

Four-year-old Fae Platten (left and right with her family) suffered a severe allergic reaction after a fellow passenger ignored warnings from cabin crew and opened a bag of nuts on a Ryanair flight in August

The email from the executive chairman’s office apologised for how Mr Hyams was ‘made to feel’ and indicated that the employees involved have been offered further coaching.

But the email informed him that the matter had been dealt with in an appropriate manner by the customer service department and he should no longer 'dwell further on these issues'.

Mr Hyams called the email, which encouraged him to fly with BA again, a 'disgrace'. 

He told MailOnline Travel: ‘I understand that BA obviously have a policy for peanuts but what still winds me up is how we were treated by the staff and the total disregard for the safety of their passengers.’

Less than a week before the incident in August, a girl aged four suffered a life-threatening allergy attack on a Ryanair flight after a passenger ignored staff’s repeated warnings not to eat peanuts.

The girl stopped breathing after the man opened a packet of mixed nuts despite three warnings that there was a child on board with a severe allergy.

The girl, who went into anaphylactic shock, had to be revived with an anti-allergy adrenaline injection form an EpiPen and was taken to hospital for treatment after the plane landed.

Ryanair accommodated the girl’s family’s request to not serve nuts and banned the passenger from flying with it for two years.