Featured Image Credit: ITV/Instagram/@_jackfowler_
Topics: Love Island, TV And Film, Reality TV, Celebrity, ITV
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: Love Island, TV And Film, Reality TV, Celebrity, ITV
Love Island’s Jack Fowler has recalled being 'petrified' as he went into anaphylactic shock on an Emirates flight, telling the friends onboard with him that he thought he was going to die.
The 28-year-old reality TV star made headlines this week as he slammed
Emirates after claiming 'negligence' led him to suffer a severe allergic reaction while travelling.
The former Islander posted a series of shocking photos and clips from the recent flight, saying he required 'emergency treatment' after eating an in-flight meal.
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He claimed that he had notified crew of his nut allergy a number of times before eating the food, only to be assured that it contained no nuts.
However, Fowler suddenly found he 'couldn’t breathe', and notified staff that he was suffering an allergic reaction.
Fowler said he told crew he would 'die' if the plane didn’t land quickly, meaning the pilot was forced to ‘speed up’ the journey as he was administered adrenaline and oxygen.
He has since opened up about the traumatic ordeal some, telling The Sun: "It's petrifying. You know, I'm petrified.
"I'm looking at my three friends that are on the flight with me and I'm saying to them, God, I think I'm going to die.
"Because I can't breathe, you know, I can't talk.
"I can just about breathe. And, you know, I'm having my anaphylactic shock. I'm shaking. My heart's going crazy.
"You know, my eyes are stinging. My skin's itching. I feel really hot."
His throat closed up after eating, resulting in him needing immediate emergency treatment.
Recalling the moment, Fowler carried on: "I'm scared. I'm petrified. It couldn't be any worse.
"Up 35,000 feet in the air with no doctor. It can't get any worse than that.
"You go to these flights and you pay all this money, thousands of pounds in some cases, to get to a destination safely. And now this has happened."
He was eventually given five tanks of oxygen and said the pilot took a shorter flight path to get him to safety.
Fowler's since used his experience to raise awareness on the seriousness of allergies on planes, adding: "It could all have been prevented.
"I don't care if they've got, you know, these policies that they have, right, online. They're good. And we need them.
"But ultimately, when I ask someone, has it got nuts in? And they say no, and it has. That could have killed me."
Emirates previously released a statement following the incident, saying: "We are sorry to hear of Mr Fowler's experience and our teams on ground are providing him with all possible assistance. The safety and health of our customers is taken very seriously.
"While Emirates aims to cater to customers with specific needs by offering a variety of special meals that cover medical, dietary, and religious requirements, we cannot guarantee a nut-free inflight environment.
"We urge travellers with dietary or other medical requirements to check our website and consult their doctor before travel."