Airline kicked boy, 16, off flight 7,000 miles from home over his peanut allergy

Two brothers aged 15 and 16 were kicked off a flight alone and 7,000 miles from home because one of them had a peanut allergy.

Pooja Patel, from Atlanta, is outraged after her sons were escorted from the Korean Air flight in Seoul while en route to visit their ailing grandfather in the Phillipines.

They flew from Atlanta to Seoul on Delta, with that airline confirming no nuts would be served on the flight.

But the youngsters found themselves stuck as they boarded a flight to Manila operated by Delta partner airline Korean Air.

Patel’s eldest son explained to a Korean Air gate agent that he had a severe peanut and tree nut allergy before boarding.

He asked if staff could avoid serving peanuts, make an announcement asking other passengers not to eat them, and let him board early to clean his seat of any possible nut residue.

The boys were allowed to board, but once on board a flight attendant approached the young allergy sufferer and told him the trigger food would be served.

She told him this was ‘because they must let other passengers enjoy the peanuts.’

After Patel’s eldest son explained how dangerous that could be, the flight attendant called her supervisor.

The same gate agent who allowed the boys to board told them they had two options – to take the risk and stay on the plane with peanuts being served, or disembark.

Writing on allergy awareness forum NoNutTraveler, Patel explained: ‘The boys tried to provide different options like not serving it around them or moving them to an empty section of the plane, but Korean Air didn’t want to hear anything.

‘ALL OF A SUDDEN the agent tells them that they don’t have a choice…..they HAVE to get off the plane.’

The stressed mother told Good Morning America she was ‘shocked and almost in tears’ on being called by her children, and discovering they’d been left stranded so far from home.

Her sons flew back to Atlanta without making it to the Phillipines, with Patel saying the experience ‘was the most stressed I’ve ever been.’

Korean Air have issued a groveling apology to the Patels, and said they will ‘strive to creat a better customer experience.’

Delta also apologized, and said they were working with Korean Air to establish what had gone wrong.