Heidi Morris, 46, (left) unbuckled her seat belt on the Lauda flight and stood up to protest on behalf of her daughter Grace (right), whose peanut allergy could be fatal
The mother of a 19-year-old with a severe peanut allergy tried to prevent a plane from taking off when staff refused to make an announcement about consuming peanuts on board.
Heidi Morris, 46, unbuckled her seat belt and stood up to protest on behalf of her daughter Grace, whose allergic reactions could be fatal.
Mrs Morris, a teacher, asked cabin crew on the Lauda flight to Liverpool to stop selling the snack and make an announcement asking passengers to avoid eating peanuts on board.
She said she told cabin crew that she was concerned about peanut dust circulating around the cabin prior to the air conditioning being switched on.
Mrs Morris, from The Wirral, told The Liverpool Echo: ‘To my horror, the calm reply was simply: “No, we don’t make announcements like that, we can’t”.
‘I began to plead with two cabin crew members could they make this an exception, as God forbid, if the unthinkable happened at 32,000 feet, then they would be looking at having to divert the aircraft, while we would be praying that the two EpiPens which my daughter carries, would bide us enough time to keep her alive, until we could get to a hospital, which is easier said than done when you are in the air.
‘I could not believe that I was having to explain this and beg for their understanding and value my daughter’s life, as much as anyone should value another life and care about their wellbeing.
‘After much eye rolling from them, reiteration that they do not make these announcements, they finally agreed to not sell any peanut products during our flight and said that they would make the announcement.’
They were flying into Liverpool from a friend’s 50th birthday in Vienna, Austria, when the row broke out.
When the message was still not relayed, she stood up which forced staff to ‘reluctantly’ give a ‘flippant’ announcement.
Later during the flight, the family claimed they saw peanut M&M chocolates displayed on top of the refreshments trolley despite their pleas.
Mrs Morris added: ‘Every other time, on other flights, air stewards are usually lovely and cooperate with us.
‘Whilst there have been improvements with some airlines taking the stance of banning the sale of and consumption of peanuts altogether on their flights, notably EasyJet, this isn’t a uniformed approach as of yet.
Grace has had five allergic reactions in the past, which can leave her with skin rashes, a wheezy chest, swollen lips, and dizziness
‘How many healthy people have to lose their life, or quality of life unnecessarily, for the sake of a peanut snack being sold or eaten by others on board a flight?
‘Thank the Lord on this occasion our daughter was safe.
‘It will certainly make us think twice about choosing who we will fly with in future.
‘Shame on you Lauda, who definitely need to be educated on such an important issue.’
Mrs Morris, who has written to Lauda, and their parent company RyanAir to complain, said Grace has had five allergic reactions in the past, which can leave her with skin rashes, a wheezy chest, swollen lips, and dizziness.
If untreated, she could die.
The family never go to Chinese or Indian restaurants for this reason, and said they are always ‘very careful’ wherever they visit with the teenager who is now studying for a business degree.
MailOnline has contacted Lauda for comment.