Love Island’s Jack Fowler SLAMS Emirates staff for ‘MOCKING’ his near-fatal allergic reaction in vile screenshots
LOVE Island’s Jack Fowler has slammed Emirates staff for ‘mocking’ his near-fatal allergic reaction in vile screenshots.
Jack, 28, was rushed to hospital following the terrifying in-air incident back in June, which saw him accidentally eat food containing nuts during a flight to Dubai.
The reality star required five tanks of oxygen and shared worrying footage of himself administering his EpiPen in an Instagram post.
Jack told how his throat “immediately closed” after he ate a curry containing cashew nuts, despite allegedly making it clear to Emirates staff he has a serious nut allergy.
At the time, he accused the airline of “complete negligence” and said he had been faced with the “real possibility of dying on the plane”.
But, in a shocking update shared to the platform today, Jack claimed he’s since learned of employees allegedly mocking the incident in a work Facebook group.
The influencer told his followers he’s seen evidence of messages from staff with full names and pictures visible on their accounts.
He’s currently awaiting a response from Emirates after instructing his legal team to contact them.
Jack shared his concern about the airline’s handling of the incident, going on to praise British Airways for their exceptional care in recent flights.
He said in a video posted today: “Hello, hello, hello, happy Sunday everyone. Quick update on the Emirates airline. Wow, woo, where do we start? Happened about a month ago.
“I’ve taken 28 flights since then with this European tour. And I must say, absolutely petrified to eat on these flights now. Scared, completely scared because you never know. And that’s the main thing, you never know.
“But I must say, huge shout out to British Airways. I’ve flown with them a few times in the last four weeks and they have been by far the most accommodating, caring, understanding airline there is.
“So huge shout out to you guys for taking on what’s happened to me. and just generic you have with allergies seriously.
“Unfortunately, I’ve had been sent screenshots from a Facebook page that Emirates have within their air hosts, they able to communicate.
“And on the Facebook page with their full pictures, full names, bio, Emirates airline, all the rest of it. They’re completely mocking what’s happened, taking the absolute mick.
“And as much as that is angry for me to see and my family, my friends, it just kind of builds the picture, doesn’t it?
“It builds the picture that people, and this is not all airlines and this is not all air hosts. I wanna say that right here, right now. But the people who are in the company that are supposed to be there to care and support and be there for our safety are actually mocking what has happened to me. And it’s disgraceful.
“Honestly, if there’s a time where I show you guys, which there might be, what’s happened on the Facebook page, you’ll see for yourselves and it’s disgusting.
“I just want, out of all of this, for people just to be less naive and educate them and take seriously what has happened because I’m lucky to still be here and be able to say what’s happened because it can be fatal. It really can be fatal.
“And being 35,000 feet up in the air, unable to breathe, and it being something that can be prevented is so scary, so scary.
“And the main thing out of all this is for it not to happen again. That is the main thing.
“But look, my legal team have reached out to Emirates. We’ve had a letter of acknowledgement and they can take up to six months to reply.
“Let’s hope they don’t take that long. They’ve already put out a statement, which is very weak. You guys can see that for yourselves.
“So yeah, that’s basically the update. There’s not huge amounts to update on. When there is, I will for sure let you know.
“But for now, guys, thank you so much for showing the love and support. And let’s just make sure this don’t happen again. So for now, yeah, happy Sunday. Peace.”
The Sun approached Emirates for comment
What to do if someone is suffering an allergic reaction
Call 999 if:
- your lips, mouth, throat or tongue suddenly become swollen
- you’re breathing very fast or struggling to breathe (you may become very wheezy or feel like you’re choking or gasping for air)
- your throat feels tight or you’re struggling to swallow
- your skin, tongue or lips turn blue, grey or pale (if you have black or brown skin, this may be easier to see on the palms of your hands or soles of your feet)
- you suddenly become very confused, drowsy or dizzy
- someone faints and cannot be woken up
- a child is limp, floppy or not responding like they normally do
How to use an adrenaline auto-injector
If you or someone you’re with has a serious allergic reaction and an adrenaline auto-injector (such as an EpiPen), you should use it immediately.
Instructions are included on the side of the injector.
Call 999 for an ambulance after using the injector, even if you or the person you’re with seems to be feeling better.
Source: NHS
After returning home to the UK, Jack spoke to The Sun and appeared on Good Morning Britain to raise awareness.
Reliving his ordeal, he told us earlier this summer: “It’s petrifying. You know, I’m petrified.
“I’m looking at my three friends that are on the flight with me and I’m saying to them, God, I think I’m going to die.
“Because I can’t breathe, you know, I can’t talk.
“I can just about breathe. And, you know, I’m having my anaphylactic shock. I’m shaking. My heart’s going crazy.
“You know, my eyes are stinging. My skin’s itching. I feel really hot.”
Jack’s throat had closed up. He needed emergency treatment immediately and his friends alerted the air crew, begging them to land the plane.
He continued: “I’m scared. I’m petrified. It couldn’t be any worse.
“Up 35,000 feet in the air with no doctor. It can’t get any worse than that.
“You go to these flights and you pay all this money, thousands of pounds in some cases, to get to a destination safely. And now this has happened.”
Jack was given five tanks of oxygen and said the pilot took a shorter flight path to get him to safety.
Having not seen the flight menu, Jack said he was told by an air steward that his chosen meal was a plain chicken curry free from nuts.
It turned out the sauce was blended with cashew nuts – the worse kind for him to consume.
The star said he wanted to share his experience to raise awareness and educate other air stewards of the dangers faced by passengers with allergies.
“It could all have been prevented,” he told us.
“I don’t care if they’ve got, you know, these policies that they have, right, online. They’re good. And we need them.
“But ultimately, when I ask someone, has it got nuts in? And they say no, and it has. That could have killed me.”
The Love Island hunk, who starred in the fourth series, had another brush with death last year on a plane when he was served a dessert with pistachios.
Following this, he suffered a terrifying health scare when he discovered his headache was in fact a meningitis sign.
Jack suffered abuse from some corners of the internet after sharing his ordeal on social media, with disgusting comments accusing him of seeking “free flights for life”.
He hit back at trolls and said: “I think the only compensation that I’m really wanting right now is for it not to happen to anyone else.
“That, for me, is at the forefront of my mind. So that’s what I’m focusing on.”
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 inflight environment.
“We urge travellers with dietary or other medical requirements to check our website and consult their doctor before travel.”