A teenager had an allergic reaction on a flight from Antigua to London after a passenger 10 paces away ate peanuts.
Poppy Jones, 14, went off and required doses of oxygen and EpiPen during the eight-hour flight after a man appeared to ignore cabin crew ads to stop eating nuts.
He was on a British Airways flight with his mother, Joanna Jones, when he suffered an anaphylactic shock.
The cabin crew called for a “doctor on board” and a nurse responded, who was able to help stabilize Poppy and administer oxygen.
The pilot planned to make an emergency landing, but the plane was able to continue to Gatwick where it was greeted by an ambulance.
“I really thought I might die”
Ms Jones, a 39-year-old caregiver from Tooting, south London, told MailOnline: “It was a nightmare for all of us and I really thought I might die.”
Ms Jones said the crew had told passengers at the start of the flight about the nut allergy.
“When we took off I saw a man of about 10 rows in front eating nuts,” he said.
“I was worried and asked if they could move us but there was no availability and the crew asked him to stop eating the nuts, but he ignored the requests and continued.”
Ms Jones said the pilot declared a medical emergency and a flight attendant nurse helped by providing an oxygen mask.
When the plane landed in Gatwick, her daughter was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
A British Airways spokesman said: “The safety and well-being of our customers is always our top priority and we take the issue of allergens very seriously.
“Our crew treated a client who appeared to be having an allergic reaction on board and arranged for paramedics to meet with the plane.”
Horrible experience
Ms Jones said it was a “horrible experience” that could have been avoided if the man had listened to the crew’s announcements.
“People seem to think it’s not a serious issue, but yes and airlines should do more,” he said.
“It should be illegal for people to eat nuts on a plane if someone is allergic to them.
“All the crew could do was ask him to stop eating them, but he didn’t. He kept going and didn’t seem to care that he was risking my daughter’s life.”
Mrs. Jones had been on vacation in Antigua with her daughter, her mother, and two other children.