Love Island star Jack Fowler has called for serving nuts on planes to be banned after claiming he suffered an “extremely scary” allergic reaction on a flight to Dubai.
The reality star, who appeared on the hit ITV2 show in 2018, shared details on social media, saying he had to use his epi pen and required five tanks of oxygen after being served a chicken curry with nuts in it on an Emirates flight, despite flagging his allergy twice.
He has now spoken out after receiving messages from others “completely relating” to his experience.
“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,” Fowler told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
“Straight away I knew, my throat was closing up, I couldn’t breathe and it was extremely scary for me.”
The Love Island star said he realised something was wrong and insisted on looking at the menu, which he said read: “Creamy cashew nut chicken curry.”
‘What is it going to take?’
Fowler 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.”
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This is not the first time Fowler has suffered an allergic reaction on a flight. In January 2023, he claimed he was served ice cream containing nuts while travelling with a different airline.
Following his latest post, a spokesperson for Emirates 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.”
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The Emirates website says the airline “can’t guarantee our meals are nut free” and that “we serve nuts on all our flights, either as a meal ingredient or as an accompaniment to drinks”.
It adds: “Other passengers may also bring food on board that contains nuts, and traces of nut residue could be passed on to other surfaces of the aircraft as well as through the air conditioning system.
“If you have a nut allergy, we recommend discussing your travel plans with your doctor before you fly and please contact your local Emirates office.”