Family stranded by nut-allergy row flies home

Published on Wednesday 6 August 2008 22:16

A SCOTTISH family was heading home last night after being left stranded in the United States since the weekend because of their son's severe nut allergy.

Amoz Harrell, a nine-year-old schoolboy from Ellon in Aberdeenshire, could suffer a potentially fatal anaphylactic shock if he came into to contact with nuts.

His parents, Nicola and David Harrell, spoke of their anger yesterday after staff refused to allow them on board their return KLM flight from Chicago on Saturday because they could not give them a guarantee that the aircraft would be a nut-free environment.

Amoz and his brothers Imran, seven, and Isaiah, 11, and their parents

were told by the captain of the aircraft that there was not enough time to clean it of nuts served on the way out.

A furious Mrs Harrell said: "We agreed not to travel on Saturday because the pilot put the fear of death into us. He said once over the Atlantic there would be nothing he could do if my son had an anaphylactic shock."

She insisted she had told KLM about Amos's condition and had been assured the flight would be nut-free.

Special arrangements were made yesterday by KLM for the Harrell family to return home on a guaranteed nut-free flight.

An spokeswoman for the airline said: "KLM, in line with most carriers, is unable to guarantee a nut-free environment on board its aircraft. The captain deemed it was safer for the child not to travel on (Saturday's] flight.

"In flight we do not serve any peanuts at all. In business class we serve cashew nuts and almonds, which is why for anyone with a peanut allergy we are unable to guarantee a nut-free environment.

"Anyone who has a nut allergy is always informed of this before they fly and, in this case, we were not aware that the nut allergy was as severe as it was."