A passenger with a severe food allergy claimed that she endured the “worst flight of her life” after battling nausea and diarrhea after consuming the wrong food that came with her special meal.
Chloë Chapdelaine was flying from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) with Emirates. Chapdelaine, who has celiac disease, made sure she requested a gluten-free meal with the airline prior to her flight.
She documented her in-flight meal on TikTok, including the croissant that she said caused her severe pain.
In the video, it can be seen that all other food items, including Chapdelaine’s main meal, bore a “GF” or “Gluten-Free” label, except for the croissant.
Assuming that the croissant was also gluten-free like the rest of the food in the special meal, Chapdelaine tucked into the pastry, and had eaten half of it before she realized that it was not free of gluten.
“I’ve been gluten-free for almost 10 years and I haven’t eaten any. I was told I was given a gluten-free croissant with my gluten-free airplane meal, and it turns out that it wasn’t – and I ate half of it,” Chapdelaine said to the camera.
She said that she is highly sensitive and reacts poorly even towards cross-contaminated or just trace amounts, so consuming half a pastry that is not gluten-free sent her to the aircraft lavatory, where she filmed her narration.
“I could feel the other symptoms starting straight away as well and it just got worse from there,” Chapdelaine said. “I started getting really bad stomach cramping, I got diarrhea, I felt nauseous and my skin started itching.”
Chapdelaine said that she spent her time in the lavatory “making herself sick” to alleviate the discomfort and pain she was experiencing.
She has also warned viewers who request special in-flight meals to always double check all items in the meal tray.
Chapdelaine eventually asked a flight attendant to double check the meal she received. She was then informed that the croissant was not gluten free, and that it had been accidentally added to her breakfast tray.
She said that although the flight attendants were sympathetic towards her plight, she has filed a formal complaint to Emirates.
Emirates told the Daily Mail that it received Chapdelaine’s complaint, and that the incident is being investigated.
Celiac disease is a condition where your immune system attacks your own tissues when you eat gluten. This damages your small intestine, so your body cannot properly take in nutrients. Celiac disease can cause a range of symptoms, including diarrhea, abdominal pain and bloating.