Former Love Island star Jack Fowler has called for nuts to be excluded from in-flight menus after he claimed he could have died when they featured in a meal he was served.
The reality star, who appeared on the ITV2 show in 2018, said he had to use his epi pen and required five tanks of oxygen as he had a severe allergic reaction on a flight to Dubai after a chicken curry he was served had nuts in it.
Fowler said he flagged his severe nut allergy twice and was reassured the meal did not contain nuts.
'It was extremely scary for me… I could have died'
Jack Fowler experienced anaphylaxis mid-air on a flight to Dubai after being served a dish with nuts in despite explaining he was allergic and being told there was no nuts in the dish. pic.twitter.com/P51qyPwUMv
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) June 19, 2024
He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I really honestly trusted them and started to eat what I thought was something safe and it actually contains the one thing that I really couldn’t have and that was cashew nuts, that is the worst nut for me.
“Straight away I knew, my throat was closing up, I couldn’t breathe and it was extremely scary for me.”
He added: “I just knew something was wrong so I stood up, I went to the air host and I said: ‘Excuse me. Is there nuts in this?’ And she said no. And I said: ‘But I can feel it, something’s wrong.’”
After he insisted on looking at the menu, he said it read: “Creamy cashew nut chicken curry,” adding: “There’s this complete negligence here.”
He continued: “I just think: what is it going to take? What is it going to take until nuts are taken off flights completely?
“The amount of people in my comments on Instagram, direct messaging, saying they are completely relating to what happened, whether or not it’s them firsthand, it’s their friends, it might be the parents of a young child who’s also got an anaphylaxis to food.
“It’s incredible that nuts are still served on flights. The rate of allergies in younger people is on the up. And I just feel like it’s a sign of the times where people need to be looked after on these flights.
“Back in the day, you had some drink and some peanuts, but now things are changing and what is it gonna take?
“I think people need to really understand the severity of allergies and I think there’s a lot of ignorance in some people.”
Fowler previously shared a video of himself injecting himself with his epi pen in the thigh during the flight, writing: “I told the flight supervisor ‘If you don’t land this plane soon, I will die on this plane’. This then lead to the pilot speeding up the journey.”
He said he was taken to the airport hospital upon landing and continued treatment.
A spokesperson for Emirates airline said: “We are sorry to hear of Mr Fowler’s experience and our teams on ground are providing him with all possible assistance. The safety and health of our customers is taken very seriously.
“While Emirates aims to cater to customers with specific needs by offering a variety of special meals that cover medical, dietary, and religious requirements, we cannot guarantee a nut-free in-flight environment.
“We urge travellers with dietary or other medical requirements to check our website and consult their doctor before travel.”