A 36-year-old jewellery designer from South London has been reportedly kicked off a connecting flight in Istanbul because she was allergic to nuts.
Hanna Olsen was on her way from Manchester to a holiday in Cape Town with Turkish Airlines with a two-hour stopover in Istanbul when she was left stranded 2,000 miles from home, a Daily Mirror report said.
Hanna was taken off the plane and left stranded in Istanbul for 24 hours, paying out of her own pocket for an airport hotel room, the report said.
The Mirror quoted her as saying that her allergy is not life-threatening but it can cause her to be sick and become really itchy and uncomfortable. Hence, she asked the crew for the ingredients list for the meals they were serving. But she was told that if she had an allergy and wanted to stay on the plane she would have to sign to agree that the airline was not responsible if anything happened.
"I was given a blank piece of A4 paper to sign. They said I had to sign the form to say that I take responsibility if something happens. It was a blank bit of paper, not a form," she told the British daily.
When Hanna agreed to sign, the crew came back about 10 minutes later saying the pilot was now refusing to take her.
"I got really upset, it was embarrassing and dehumanising. I was crying and other passengers were getting annoyed as the flight was delayed," she said.
Hanna was taken off the plane and left stranded in Istanbul for 24 hours, paying out of her own pocket for an airport hotel room, the report added.
She, according to the report, said Turkish Airlines wanted to charge her £700 to rebook her the next day, and made her sign a second piece of blank A4 paper to confirm the company would not be held responsible.
After lots of arguing, Hanna said she was eventually rebooked at no cost, but she will never make a crew aware of her allergy again, for fear of being stranded abroad again, The Mirror report said.