Beth Milligan was due to fly to Spain on a package holiday with Jet2 when she was removed from the flight after telling staff about her anxiety and a medical condition
A holidaymaker has claimed she was ‘marched off a Jet2 plane after informing staff about her flight anxiety.
Beth Milligan was jetting off from Glasgow Airport to Spain on Monday 26 May with her boyfriend Declan Gillen for a four-night break in Alicante, Spain. The couple, who had splashed out £1,300 for a Jet2 package holiday, arrived at the airport when Beth started feeling anxious about the impending three-hour flight.
The 25-year-old confesses she’s a ‘nervous flyer’ but always feels alright once she’s on board the plane.
After sharing her anxiety with Jet2 staff, the makeup artist says she reassured cabin crew that she was ‘absolutely fine’ – and that her nervousness stemmed from a recent health issue. Weeks before flying, the makeup artist had suffered pain in her chest and ribs but was told by doctors this was muscular and it would not affect any travel plans.
Do you have a travel story to share? Email [email protected]
But after informing the flight attendants about the chest discomfort, Beth claims she was labelled a ‘medical liability’ and ordered to leave the plane. Shocked, Beth said she was then ‘marched off’ the flight and told she was unable to fly with Jet2 without a ‘fit to fly’ certificate.
Beth said she felt ‘discriminated against’ after telling Jet2 staff about her anxiety and is demanding a full refund after she and her partner were unable to go on their holiday.
Jet2 has emphasised that their ‘number one priority is always the health and safety of our customers and colleagues’, following an incident where Beth was deemed ‘not fit to fly’.
According to Fit to Fly, airlines have a duty to make sure that passengers are safe. Its online advice reads: “The airline you plan to fly with needs to make sure it is medically safe for you to fly, so you might need to tell them about any health condition you have. Airlines might not let you travel with them:
1. If they are concerned that you have a medical condition that might get worse during a flight
2. If you have an illness that could infect other passengers
“Restrictions and rules can vary between airlines, so if you are in any doubt, you should seek advice from the medical department of the airline. Most airlines have a medical advisory service, details of which can usually be found on their website.”
READ MORE: Flight attendant warns Brits to ‘never wear shorts’ on a flightREAD MORE: Ryanair passenger refuses £58 baggage charge and ditches suitcase for bin bag
Beth, hailing from near Glasgow in Lanarkshire, said: “We got to the airport, got to the gate and I started to get a little bit nervous. I’m always nervous flying but once I’m on the flight, I’m absolutely fine. [Jet2 staff at the gate] said ‘we get nervous flyers all the time and the cabin crew are trained to deal with nervous flyers’.
“They told me ‘once you get on, tell the cabin crew and they will help and support you’. I was absolutely fine. I got on the flight and told the attendant I just needed a bit of fresh air because the doors were still open and she said that was absolutely fine. I kept telling her I was absolutely fine and she didn’t need to worry. She assured me I was okay.”
After disclosing to another air stewardess that she had been unwell due to muscular discomfort in her chest and ribs, Beth insisted she ‘reassured’ the staff she was fine. Despite her assurances, Beth alleges that the cabin crew demanded she leave the plane immediately, branding her a ‘medical liability’.
A manager boarded the flight and walked Beth off the plane. Beth felt unfairly treated for her honesty about her anxiety: “I’m getting demonised for being a nervous flyer and being open and honest about my feelings, even though that’s what I was told to do. I’m absolutely devastated. I feel like I’ve been gaslit and robbed. I just want my money back and I’ll never fly with them again.”
A Jet2 spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Miss Milligan alerted our team to the fact that she was feeling unwell when boarding the aircraft. Our crew followed standard procedure for any medical concerns and sought advice from the qualified medical support team, MedAire, who advised that Miss Milligan was ‘not fit to fly’. As an award-winning airline, our number one priority is always the health and safety of our customers and colleagues, and we can confirm that our team did all they could to support Miss Milligan.”
The NHS provides helpful guidelines about when passengers should and shouldn’t fly, and warning signs that you should look out for before boarding. Flying can put your body under strain, due in part to the air pressure, so caution is advisable.