On June 5, a person on a trip from Dubai to Los Angeles said she got diarrhoea after eating a gluten-filled croissant. Emirates is looking into this, but an hour into the trip, Chlo Chapdelaine, who is 25, was served what looked like a tasty continental breakfast on a tray that said “gluten free.” But when she was about halfway through the croissant, she thought it tasted too good to be gluten-free, so she asked a flight attendant.
While Emirates is looking into the situation, Chapdelaine was left crying after she ate a croissant and said in a TikTok video that she thought it was okay for her to eat.
The video, called “the worst flight of my life,” shows a crying passenger in the plane’s bathroom telling what happened. Chapdelaine said that she threw up for an hour and spent the rest of the flight feeling sick and having diarrhoea and stomach cramps. She also says she had itchy skin and will have to deal with the mental effects of what happened for two weeks, such as brain fog and feeling down.
Chapdelaine says that a pale-faced flight attendant did check with staff to make sure it wasn’t gluten-free.
Chapdelaine from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, said in her TikTok, “As I was eating one of the croissants on the tray, I had a really bad feeling.” It was so good, and I’ve never had a gluten-free croissant that was so good. Then I asked why they would have such a good gluten-free brand on a plane, and that’s when I asked a flight attendant if it was really gluten-free.
The traveller said that the flight attendant then “turned pale” and told her that the food wasn’t supposed to be on her plate and wasn’t gluten-free.
“Right away, I was shocked and started to freak out,” the content author said. “I am very sensitive, and even a small amount of gluten or cross-contamination will make my celiac disease worse.” Chapdelaine wasn’t upset that she hadn’t stuck to her gluten-free diet, but she was afraid that her symptoms would last for weeks. “It was a moment of panic,” she said. “I went to the toilet, made myself sick, and threw up for about an hour, which was horrible.”
Chapdelaine said, “I knew that if I didn’t do this, it would do a lot more damage to my body.” She added that she could feel the other signs starting right away, like bad stomach cramps, diarrhoea, feeling sick, and itchy skin, because when she eats gluten, her skin gets hives or a rash. Chapdelaine said, “I have to deal with the mental effects like brain fog or I’ll be sad for the next two weeks.” In another TikTok, she said that since she was diagnosed with coeliac disease almost nine years ago, she hasn’t eaten gluten.
She said, “This isn’t the first time I’ve been on a plane and had gluten.” “Last time, I found out before I ate it, but if I hadn’t, I would have eaten it anyway, and the same thing would have happened.” It doesn’t just happen once, and on half of the flights I’ve been on (I fly a lot), gluten-free meals are forgotten. Chapdelaine said that people are quick to ask why people with coeliac disease don’t bring their own food on a flight, but “that isn’t always possible because you don’t always have access to a kitchen when you’re travelling and staying in a hotel room.”
Chapdelaine said that some border security measures also don’t let you bring food items like meat, dairy, seeds, or nuts across the line.
The Canadian asked airlines to take allergies and intolerances seriously on planes. She thinks things would have been different if she had an allergy to nuts. “Sometimes, I feel like coeliac disease isn’t taken as seriously as nut allergies.” I do think that people with food allergies or sensitivities should be able to live safely and have their health problems taken seriously, which isn’t always the case.
When it comes to offering food on planes, I just hope that airlines take allergies and other medical conditions seriously, because it can have long-term effects on a lot of people. After the video got viral, Emirates said that they are looking into the complaint. A representative for Emirates said, “We are sorry to hear Ms. Chapdelaine’s complaint.” Emirates tries to meet the needs of each customer by providing a variety of special meals that meet as many medical, dietary, and religious needs as possible.
Emirates also said, “We care a lot about our customers’ safety and health.” Ms. Chapdelaine has told our Customer Affairs team about the problem, and we are looking into it. But the NHS says that if “you have Coeliac disease, your immune system fights your own tissues when you eat gluten. This hurts your small intestine”, which makes it hard for your body to take in nutrients. About 1 in 100 people have it, which is caused by a bad reaction to wheat, barley, or rye.