Air Malta has promised to reimburse a family after a misunderstanding over nut allergy policy prompted a pilot to order them off the aircraft.
Dylan Odom, 20, who suffers from a peanut allergy was ordered off the Malta-bound plane from Lisbon, Portugal together with his family last Tuesday since he was not carrying EpiPen.
His mother, Justine Odom, pointed out that while Air Malta’s website suggests that passengers with peanut allergies should carry the EpiPen, it does not state it is an obligation to carry one.
The airlines advises passengers with food allergies, especially nut allergies, to speak to their doctor to discuss the risks involved and what can be done to minimise them.
“This may include taking your own snacks on board and carrying an epinephrine/adrenaline auto injector, like an EpiPen, in your cabin baggage, for use in an emergency allergy reaction,” the Air Malta advice states.
Prior to the flight, Ms Odom had also called and emailed the airline that morning informing them of her son’s allergy, and at no point was she told of the requirement to carry the auto-injector.
“Obviously, the crew and airline representatives are not aware of protocol,” she told Times of Malta.
Ms Odom had travelled numerous times with her son Dylan on Air Malta and other airlines, and insisted she never experienced an issue like this before.
Most times, her son would just inform the airline cabin crew of his allergy and they would subsequently make an announcement to the rest of the passengers that the flight would be a peanut-free one.
This meant that passengers would be asked to refrain from eating peanuts and most airlines would not sell products which contain them.
However, the evening of the incident, the pilot would not listen to her pleas to allow them to stay on board, and Ms Odom found herself in Lisbon airport with her son and brother looking for a flight home at 10pm.
Following the incident, Air Malta head of communications Stephen Gauci said the airline has pledged to make its policy clearer to ensure passengers understand their obligations when travelling with allergies.
Air Malta passengers with serious food allergies must carry an epinephrine/adrenaline auto injector with them aboard the flight, he explained.
“The pilot has the right to refuse passengers on board if they are not carrying it because if there is an emergency, he will need to divert the plane.”
While this has always been policy, Mr Gauci acknowledged it is not clearly expressed on Air Malta’s website, an issue the airline is currently addressing.
At the time, Air Malta refused to take responsibility for the flights they were forced to miss, so the family had no choice but to splash out €1,000 on the next flights to Malta, the following morning.
To save on costs they decided to spend the night at the airport, and had to call their doctor in Malta to send them an emergency prescription for the auto-injector.
Since the family returned to Malta, they have been approached by representatives of Air Malta and have settled the issue amicably.