Natasha Coates, 29, Britain’s number one disabled female gymnast, has a severe airborne allergy to tree nuts and peanuts.
This has caused her to not fly for the past 13 years due to concerns about her safety on a plane when nuts are being sold.
The Warrington-born athlete overcame this when she recently flew to Paris with her girlfriend to propose at Disneyland on Friday, May 24.
However, the magical journey ended in a terrifying experience the next day when Natasha suffered an allergic reaction to nuts on the Air France plane home.
Natasha alerted the staff to her allergy before boarding the plane, and also approached the cabin crew to inform them of her medical condition.
She was reassured that no nuts would be sold on board and thought the crew would announce this to the other passengers on the plane.
No announcement was made by the crew, who then handed out free almond cookies to people on the plane.
“I started to feel a bit unwell. I felt hot, nauseous and dirty, and I thought it had been a busy few days and I was tired,” said Natasha.
“Then they were giving out free cookies and they came up to us, and I looked at the package and they were almond cookies.”
Natasha immediately raised the issue with the cabin crew, who then told her there were no nuts in it before checking the package.
They then stopped handing out the cookies to the remaining passengers but did not take them back.
“The damage had already been done because the people who first received the cookies had opened them,” she said.
“I started having anaphylaxis, so they moved me to business class because it was quieter and asked for a doctor on board, but they panicked a bit and fluttered.”
Natasha used two of the four EpiPens she always carries and was afraid she would die from the allergic reaction.
“I felt horrible, and I just thought we had this amazing trip and all this magic and when we got engaged I thought I wasn’t coming back,” she continued.
“I thought ‘my fiancée is coming back with a fiancée who is no longer alive’.”
The plane made an emergency landing in Birmingham due to her condition and Natasha was attended to by doctors.
Fortunately, Natasha was able to leave the hospital a few hours later, but she still can’t understand why the cookies were distributed in the first place.
“It was such a short flight, the passengers could honestly have gotten over not having a cookie,” she said.
“Their snack is not more important than my life.”
After returning home, Natasha filed a complaint with Air France and shared the response she received on X, formerly Twitter.
“I am sorry to hear that you were very disappointed with the unfavorable behavior of our cabin crew on board for not providing satisfactory services,” Air France’s response said.
“A sincere apology is extended for the incivility you may have experienced.
“Of course you expect our employees to provide the best possible service, and it is inexcusable that you are confronted with something different.
“Service, courtesy, friendliness and professional behavior are the minimum standards that Air France demands from its staff, especially those who work directly with the public.
“Unfortunately, in this case we have to conclude that your perception is the opposite.”
Natasha was left hurt by the response and shared further updates on her social media.
“Air France just sent me an email and I am honestly hurt by their response,” her message read.
“’Rudeness you encountered’ – they could have killed me. ‘Perception is the opposite’ – it’s not really my perception if it’s what actually happened.”
Natasha now hopes that regulations regarding the sale of products containing nuts can be reassessed to ensure this does not happen again.
“I was lucky to survive. What happens to the next person it happens to?”
Air France was contacted for comment but did not respond by deadline.