Emirates has spoken out after a passenger with coeliac disease said she was given the wrong food on a flight. The woman says she was throwing up for an hour and left with diarrhoea and "depression" after the event.
Chlo Chapdelaine suffers from coeliac disease meaning that if she eats gluten she can get extremely unwell – and she claims that she was mistakenly served gluten on a flight, leaving her battling the horrific consequences.
She claims to have been given a croissant on her 15-hour plane journey while the rest of her meal was gluten free. She was handed the plate but noted the lack of a gluten free sticker on the bakery item after realising it "tasted so good".
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Earlier this week, the airline stated: "We are disappointed to hear Ms. Chapdelaine's complaint. Emirates aims to cater to all passenger specific needs by offering a number of special meals that cover as many medical, dietary and religious requirements as possible.
"The safety and health of our customers is taken very seriously. Ms. Chapdelaine has reached out to our Customer Affairs team, and we are investigating the issue."
According to the NHS: "Coeliac disease is a condition where your immune system attacks your own tissues when you eat gluten. This damages your gut (small intestine) so your body cannot properly take in nutrients. Coeliac disease can cause a range of symptoms, including diarrhoea, abdominal pain and bloating."
Chlo Chapdelaine, 25, noted: "As I was eating one of the croissants that was on the tray, I had a really bad feeling. It tasted so good and I have never tasted such a good gluten-free croissant before.
"I then questioned why they would have such a good gluten-free brand on a flight and this is when I questioned whether it was actually gluten free to a flight attendant. She [the air hostess] went pale and went to check and she came back and told me it wasn't meant to be on my plate and it wasn't gluten free.”
Chloe spent an hour trying to throw up the food and shared a video of herself experiencing the "worst flight of my life". Chlo said she spent the remainder of the flight feeling nauseous with bad stomach cramps and diarrhoea.
She commented: “Immediately I went into shock and started to panic. I am very highly sensitive and my coeliac disease will react to a trace amount or cross contamination.
"To be told I had eaten half a non gluten-free croissant, which is quite a large amount and bigger than what I have reacted to in the past, was really scary for me. I didn't know how I was going to react."
She added: "I wasn't upset because I had broken my gluten-free diet, I was upset because I knew there were going to be a lot of symptoms I would now have to deal with probably for the next couple of weeks or so. It was a moment of panic. I went to the bathroom and made myself physically sick and was in there for about an hour throwing up, which was horrible.
"I knew if I didn't do this it would cause my body a lot more damage. I could feel the other symptoms starting straight away as well and it just got worse from there."
Chlo noted that gluten has a major effect on her stomach, bowels, skin and even mood. She explained: "I started getting really bad stomach cramping, I got diarrhoea, I felt nauseous and my skin started itching – when I eat gluten I break out in hives or a rash. The initial symptoms for me are the stomach issues but after that the rash and hives follow.
"Then I have to deal with the mental effects like brain fog or I get depressed for the next couple of weeks."
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