A backpacker filmed herself sobbing in a plane toilet after she claims a 'mix-up' saw Emirates serve her the 'wrong' croissant, leaving her battling sickness and diarrhoea during the 15-hour flight.
Chlo Chapdelaine suffers from coeliac disease, so she ordered a gluten-free in-flight meal for her flight between Dubai and Los Angeles.
The 25-year-old content creator was delighted when she was served what appeared to be a tasty-looking gluten-free continental breakfast, served on a tray labelled 'gluten free' an hour into the flight.
But after demolishing half of the plain croissant, which didn't carry a gluten-free sticker, Chlo believed it tasted 'too good' to be gluten-free and decided to check with a flight attendant.
An ashen-faced air hostess returned from checking with staff to confirm it wasn't gluten-free, Chlo alleges.
In the footage she captioned as 'the worst flight of my life', the tearful traveller explained what had happened, and said she tried to make herself sick. She claims that after an hour of vomiting, she spent the remainder of the flight battling nausea, stomach cramps and diarrhoea.
She also claims she suffered with itchy skin and that she'll have to cope with the 'mental repercussions' of what happened, which include brain fog and feeling depressed.
Chlo, from Canada, claimed: "As I was eating one of the croissants that was on the tray, I had a really bad feeling. It tasted so good and I have never tasted such a good gluten-free croissant before.
"I then questioned why they would have such a good gluten-free brand on a flight and this is when I questioned whether it was actually gluten free to a flight attendant.
"She [the air hostess] went pale and went to check and she came back and told me it wasn't meant to be on my plate and it wasn't gluten free. Immediately I went into shock and started to panic.
"I am very highly sensitive and my coeliac disease will react to a trace amount or cross contamination.
"To be told I had eaten half a non gluten-free croissant, which is quite a large amount and bigger than what I have reacted to in the past, was really scary for me. I didn't know how I was going to react.
"I wasn't upset because I had broken my gluten-free diet, I was upset because I knew there were going to be a lot of symptoms I would now have to deal with probably for the next couple of weeks or so.
"It was a moment of panic. I went to the bathroom and made myself physically sick and was in there for about an hour throwing up, which was horrible.
"I knew if I didn't do this it would cause my body a lot more damage. I could feel the other symptoms starting straight away as well and it just got worse from there.
"I started getting really bad stomach cramping, I got diarrhoea, I felt nauseous and my skin started itching - when I eat gluten I break out in hives or a rash.
"The initial symptoms for me are the stomach issues but after that the rash and hives follow. Then I have to deal with the mental effects like brain fog or I get depressed for the next couple of weeks."
Following her allergic reaction, Chlo shared a clip on Tiktok to show how serious the effects eating gluten can have on her.
Chlo said she had not eaten gluten for almost nine years since she was diagnosed with coeliac disease and this wasn't the first time she had had problems on a flight.
Chlo said: "For me this isn't the first time I have been exposed to gluten on a plane. Fortunately, last time I realised before I ate it but had I not, I would have eaten it and the same thing would have happened.
"It's not a one-time thing and also on half of the flights I have taken - I travel all the time - gluten-free meals are forgotten. I feel like a lot of people are quick to question why people with coeliac disease don't bring their own food on a flight.
"Firstly, this isn't always possible as when you're travelling and in a hotel room you don't have access to a kitchen to do so. Also, a lot of border security doesn't allow you to bring food items over the border.
"A lot of the time you can't bring meat, dairy or seeds or nuts, which eliminates a lot of products and makes it very difficult for me to bring on my own food onto the plane."
The Canadian said airlines need to take allergies and intolerances on flights more seriously and believes if she had a nut allergy the situation would have been different.
Chlo said: "I do feel like coeliac disease is not taken as seriously [as nut allergies] at times. I do feel that people with food allergies or sensitivities deserve to exist safely and be taken seriously in their medical condition and that's not always the case.
"I just hope the airlines specifically take allergies or just medical conditions seriously when it comes to serving people food on planes because it can have lasting effects for lots of people."
Chlo said the Emirates flight attendants were sympathetic towards her, but after filing a formal complaint she is yet to hear from the airline.
An Emirates spokesperson said: “We are disappointed to hear Ms. Chapdelaine’s complaint. Emirates aims to cater to all passenger specific needs by offering a number of special meals that cover as many medical, dietary and religious requirements as possible. The safety and health of our customers is taken very seriously. Ms. Chapdelaine has reached out to our Customer Affairs team, and we are investigating the issue.”
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