Love Island star Jack Fowler 'almost died' after suffering an allergic reaction on a plane
Jack Fowler "almost died" after suffering an allergic reaction on a plane.
The 28-year-old reality star - who appeared on the fourth series of 'Love Island' in 2018 and then later won 'Love Island Games' in 2023 - is allergic to nuts and claimed that he was wrongly reassured that there were no nuts in the curry he had ordered and ended up struggling to breathe.
He wrote on Instagram: "I recently flew with Emirates Airline where I was given a Cashew Nut. I made my flight attendant aware of my nut allergy twice before being given a chicken curry.
"I wasn’t given a menu to chose from, instead I was asked directly if I wanted chicken or fish. I opted for the chicken. When I asked for the chicken I told the air-host that I’m severely allergic to all nuts. I was then told that there was no nuts in the chicken curry. When I received the meal I asked the same flight attendant again to make sure, and again was told that it does not have nuts included.
"Trusting my flight attendant I began to eat the chicken curry. Immediately my throat closed up and breathing became extremely difficult.
"I told a flight attendant I couldn’t breathe and if there was nuts in the food. I was told that there were no nuts in the chicken curry AGAIN. It was only when my friend demanded to see the food menu for the first time did I realise it was a ‘creamy cashew nut chicken curry’.
"This left me with the real possibility of dying on the plane as I knew I needed emergency treatment immediately. I was given five tanks of oxygen, as well as administering my Adrenaline Pen (Epi Pen). 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."
The TV star was rushed to hospital when the plane landed and hit out at all airlines to take the matter more seriously.
He added: "Once we landed I was rushed into Dubai's airport hospital where I continued treatment.
"What needs to happen for airlines to take food allergies seriously??
"@emirates it is not good enough. I’m lucky to be able to have a platform to make as many people aware of your complete negligence. You are responsible for your passengers and their safety. Giving a passenger food that they’ve stated TWICE will cause extreme harm is unacceptable."
