Mum-to-be ‘kicked off’ flight after being sick
WOMAN CLAIMS SHE WAS LEFT STRANDED AT AIRPORT FOR HOURS
A PREGNANT woman was ‘kicked off’ a flight after being sick while waiting for the plane to take off.
Billie-Jo Robinson was booked on the flight from JFK airport in New York to Manchester last Saturday – after a holiday with her sister-in-law and friend.
The 28-year-old said passengers were left waiting on board the plane for more than two hours – during which time she began to feel unwell and needed a sick bag.
But Billie claims soon after she was told by a Virgin Atlantic cabin crew member that the airline’s ‘ground staff doctor’ had deemed her ‘not fit to fly.’
She said she was then asked to get off the flight and was left until the early hours of the morning, with no money, food or accommodation.
Billie, who is 20 weeks pregnant, said: “We were left waiting on the plane for ages because of missing passengers.
“It was really hot and I had really bad heartburn after having a McDonald’s in the airport and felt a bit sick.
“I saw an air hostess with sick bags and asked her for one and I was sick a little bit – but not enough to leave my seat. I asked the air hostess could she get rid of the bag and she asked was I okay, to which I said I was fine and she gave me a bottle of water.
“It had been about 40 minutes since I had been sick and I was just sat reading my magazine, when a member of the cabin crew came up to me and said I needed to get off the aircraft.
“She said a doctor on the ground, who had never even met me or seen me, had made the decision I was not fit to fly.”
A spokesman for Virgin Atlantic said the decision was made after the situation was evaluated with “independent medical experts”.
Billie, who is due to give birth in April, said she was reassured by staff she would be put up in a hotel, taken to the hospital to get a doctor’s note and put on the next flight.
However the mum-to-be claims she, her friend, and her sister-in-law were left until 1am “on a cold airport floor” with only $55 and travel cards between them.
Billie, from Wirral, Merseyside, said: “I was crying when I was told to get off the flight but I was told by the cabin crew not to worry, Virgin will take me to the hospital to get a fit to fly letter, sort us a hotel and food, until the next flight we can be booked on to.
“However when we got off the flight, I was told to go and collect our luggage, which was a 15-minute walk away and then drag a 22kg case across the airport up escalators, bear in mind I’m ‘too sick to fly and need to go to hospital.’
“Our other case which has the only bank card in didn’t come off the plane and when we went to the customer services desk they said they ‘couldn’t find it.’
“And then we were told we wouldn’t be going to a hotel or hospital and I needed to sort it myself because it ‘wasn’t their responsibility.’”
After hours of trying to resolve the situation, Billie and the group were eventually given a hotel and a hospital visit was arranged via their travel insurance for later the same day.
However later that morning Billie claims she was contacted by the airline’s duty manager and told she had been booked on another flight and she didn’t need a doctor’s note.
The group were then flown from JFK to Atlanta and on to Manchester.
Billie, a children’s home manager, said: “You can fly without telling an airline you are pregnant up until 28 weeks, I had done everything I was supposed to.
“I don’t want anything from the airline apart from an apology.”
A spokesman for Virgin Atlantic said: “When Ms Robinson became unwell we evaluated the situation with our independent medical experts and unfortunately she was deemed too unwell to travel.”