Zimbo banned from flying after his nuts nearly killed girl (4)

By Jenny Awford

A four-year-old girl with a severe nut allergy lost consciousness on a plane after a selfish passenger ignored three warnings and opened a packet of nuts.

Fae Platten stopped breathing and went into anaphylactic shock on a Ryanair fight home from a family holiday in Tenerife last week.

She was only revived with an injection, but her lips were badly blistered and her tongue was swollen.

Ryanair said that the passenger who opened the nuts would be banned from flying with the airline for two years.

He was seated four rows away, but the recycled air used in planes meant that Fae started suffering within 20 minutes of her flight back to Stansted from a family holiday.

The man, who is of Zimbabwean origin, had an argument with a man in the row in front before opening the bag of mixed nuts.

Two police officers boarded the Ryanair plane after it landed at Stansted and spoke to the man, who was travelling with his family.

They escorted him from the plane but did not arrest him.

Although he argued with the man in the row in front, he is understood to have told officers he didn’t speak good English.

Fae’s mother Katy Platten, 30, from West Bergholt, Essex, said she wanted to warn future air passengers that people with nut allergies can suffer even if they do not eat them.

She spoke to staff who told passengers twice once they boarded and again when the food trolley was offered not to eat nuts.

Mrs Platten said: ‘It was a very lucky escape. It could have been a tragedy – Fae’s Jext pen saved her life and brought her out of anaphylaxis.

‘Staff said there was a child on board with a very severe nut allergy, so no nuts purchased in the airport should be consumed and they would be selling no nuts on the flight.

‘But 20 minutes into the flight Fae said: ‘Mummy, my face hurts’.

‘She started scratching her checks to I took her to the front and said I think somebody has opened nuts. He was incredibly selfish.

‘The air cabin crew were really good and gave her a flannel and some ice.

‘But she was becoming quite poorly. As we sat down, Fae’s breathing deteriorated, her tongue was swollen and her lips were blistered.

‘For a few moments Fae stopped breathing. Her airway was compromised and she went unconscious.’

‘The police told us that the man sitting in front of him told him not to open the nuts, but he just said he’d open them if he wanted to,’ said Mrs Platten.

‘They gave him a very heavy speaking to. They came to speak to us in the ambulance and told me they were taking it very seriously. I’m waiting to hear back from them about what’s going to happen and whether he’s going to be charged.’

A call by the cabin crew for medically trained passengers on the August 5 flight produced a nurse and an ambulance driver, who offered to inject Fae with her Jext ‘epi’ pen.

Fae, who will start at primary school next month, regained consciousness and was taken by ambulance to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex, when the plane landed.

The drama took place when Mrs Platten, her husband Dean and daughters Fae and Izzy were returning from a week-long holiday in Tenerife.

After Fae was released late last Tuesday, Mrs Platten voiced her concerns on Facebook in a post which has since been shared nearly 2,000 times.

She said she believed the man had willfully ignored the warnings and claimed the person sitting next to him even asked him not to open the packet.

‘If you hear an announcement, then don’t ignore it,’ said Mrs Platten.

‘Fae doesn’t want to fly ever again – she has understandably had some night terrors since the incident. But someone was obviously watching over us that day.’

Fae has multiple allergies, including nuts, shellfish and stoned fruits.

Her parents carry an EpiPen in case of emergencies, but this was the first time they’d had to use it.

The Ryanair website states: ‘Ryanair cannot guarantee a peanut free aircraft as other passengers may bring their own peanut products onboard and some of our snacks onboard may contain traces of nuts.’

But flight attendants are able to make announcements if you notify them either before the flight or once you are on board.

A spokesperson for Ryanair said: ‘Once Ryanair crew were informed of this customer’s allergy, a public address was made. As stated on our website, and advised to customers on board, Ryanair cannot guarantee a peanut free aircraft as other customers may bring their own peanut products on board.

‘The passenger in question who caused this unfortunate incident has now been banned from flying with Ryanair for two years. Ryanair is delighted to hear that the little girl  is making a good recovery.’

The policy for allergic passengers differs for each airline, so passengers are advised to check before flying. Daily Mail