Passenger Says She Was Kicked Off Her Flight After Telling Crew Members That She Had A Food Allergy — 'I've Always Been Fit To Fly'
She did everything she could to advocate for herself.
Drazen Zigic | Shutterstock Food allergies have become so common nowadays you wouldn't bat an eye if someone seated next to you on a plane had one. That wasn't the case for a woman flying Delta, unfortunately.
After being escorted off the plane, Ellie Brelis watched in tears as her flight left the Los Angeles airport without her.
Despite having flown with Delta in the past, flight attendants halted her travel plans when she informed them of her food allergy.
A passenger was kicked off her flight after telling crew members that she had a food allergy.
From the airport gate, Brelis posted a TikTok as she watched the plane she was "supposed to be on" take off without her. Visibly upset, she explained that she was meant to be flying to see her doctor the following day regarding "really, really serious health issues."
Brelis explained that on a previous flight, she experienced a reaction that sent her into "mild anaphylactic shock." To avoid the same outcome, she upgraded her seat to "try to be safer" and informed a flight attendant of her life-threatening shellfish allergy.
The flight attendant she spoke to quickly escalated the situation.
"She brought out another flight attendant into it and all of a sudden, it just kind of became this really big commotion where they said they were concerned because they were cooking shellfish in first class and they couldn't not serve it," Brelis said, per CBS News.
She was then removed from the plane that still had her checked baggage onboard.
Several hours later, the passenger was rebooked on a red-eye flight.
Thankfully, Brelis didn't have to miss her doctor's appointment the next day, as she revealed in a follow-up video that she was rebooked on another flight five hours later.
Still, she was understandably confused and upset by the trajectory of her travel day.
“They just said that they are putting me on the red eye, but it's a full flight, so they put me in an aisle seat, but they can't guarantee any safety or anything,” she shared. “I’m told that for the flight, the red eye, they have to call Med Air, and I have to talk to a doctor, and he has to deem if I'm fit to fly."
"My whole life I've always been fit to fly," she added.
As the passenger noted in her video, allergies are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The ADA is a federal civil rights law that protects those with disabilities, including allergies that seriously limit one or more major life activities. The ADA can help to create an environment where patients can avoid their allergy triggers.
However, according to the Asthma and Allergy Network, while airlines have "an obligation to accommodate" people with allergies, they "cannot guarantee an allergen-free cabin."
According to Delta's Accessibility Service Request forms, the airline urges passengers to notify the airline of allergies ahead of flights. When passengers do so, they are allowed early boarding and assistance with seat changes.
"While we are unable to guarantee a peanut-free or allergen-free flight or prohibit other customers from carrying these products on board, we strive to make reasonable accommodations for your needs," the airline's website noted.
The Allergy and Asthma Network and the American Association for Respiratory Care collected data on each airline and assigned them corresponding grades based on their policies. Delta received a C.
Despite Brelis not sitting in first class, the flight attendants clearly didn't want to take the chance that she would be exposed to any shellfish, which seems to be the reason why she was kicked off the flight. As of her last update, she was not refunded for her missed Delta flight.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.