A mum and daughter from the UK were left shocked after they were removed from a Jet2 flight home over an issue around the 17-year-old’s Type 1 diabetes. Lee Kelly, 58, and her 17-year-old daughter Tessy Kelly-Hester, from Newcastle, were attempting to get back home after enjoying a week in the sun on the Spanish holiday island of Lanzarote when they were asked to leave the plane.
Tessy was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes four and a half years ago and her mum has been helping her to manage her condition ever since. The pair have travelled extensively and never had any previous problems on flights, including with the initial journey out to the Canary Islands. There were no issues when the pair boarded the 8.50pm flight, but then Tessy checked her blood sugar levels on the plane, which brought back a reading slightly below the normal range at 3.6 mmol/L – target levels are typically 4-7 mmol/L before meals and below 8-9 mmol/L after meals. It was at this point that the situation arose.
Her mum Lee asked for a bag in case her daughter became unwell. Lee, said: “Tessy’s blood sugar levels can often dip below the normal level when she is a bit stressed, so it is a normal thing to happen when we’re about to fly.
“When I spoke to a member of staff, they started asking a lot of questions, including when she had last eaten, so I told them that she had food in the airport. They kept going back and forth to the manager who was speaking to MedAire about what they should do, but I didn’t see what the issue was.
“After around half an hour of this, we were told that there was no one on the plane who was qualified to assist a diabetic, which I felt was strange as I am able to help her with anything she needs,” Lee continued, as reported by ChronicleLive. “They said we had to leave the plane, which I was shocked about, and that we had to get a fit-to-fly certificate in order to get back on another Jet2 service home.
She added that at this point, Tessy had taken another reading as she had eaten something and she measured at 6.7, but they were told the decision had been made and their bags were already being removed from the aircraft.
“I didn’t know what to think at this point, as it felt as if they were singling out Tessy for a condition that she can’t do anything about, and now we were going to be stranded in Lanzarote. I don’t know what she would have done if I hadn’t been there and it just felt unfair to me.”
The pair were able to find a last-minute room at a nearby hotel for the night – costing £250 – and then Lee paid around £380 to fly back home the following day with a different airline.
Tessy added: “I felt like I was isolated and alone in that moment, and to be honest I just burst out crying, I couldn’t stop myself from getting really upset at what was going on. It all added to the stress and it made me not want to fly anymore because of the way that I felt.
“It would just be nice to know how it happened and to get a bit of an explanation, as I know other people who are in the same position as me and I think it wouldn’t be right for them to be kicked off a flight in the same situation.”
On the matter, Jet2 said its staff were following the advice of qualified medical experts at MedAire and encouraged the Brits to contact them directly. A spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Ms Kelly alerted our team to the fact that Miss Kelly-Hester was feeling unwell when boarding the aircraft.
“Our crew followed standard procedure for any medical concerns and sought advice from qualified medical experts at MedAire, who advised that Miss Kelly-Hester should not fly on medical grounds.
“As an award-winning airline, our number one priority will always be the health and safety of our customers, which is why we take the advice of MedAire. Since returning from their holiday, we have not received any contact from Ms Kelly.
“We always encourage customers to contact us directly if they wish to discuss anything to do with their holiday, so that we can assist. We always advise customers to take out appropriate travel insurance in case of incidents such as this.”
Lee said she did have insurance for the holiday and will not contact Jet2 directly regarding this situation.