The airline industry is struggling in the court of public opinion these days. There are staffing issues, air traffic controllers are overworked, and then there are the crashes that have made far too many headlines in recent months. Now, with one passenger’s recent experience, airplane food might be an issue as well.
Cameron Callaghan, who is from the UK, was traveling to Thailand, with a connecting flight in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. While onboard the first flight, Callaghan says he ate something that turned the six-hour trip into a “flight from hell.”
Callaghan grabbed a bite while his flight was delayed.
The trouble began when Callaghan’s flight was delayed for five hours, the New York Post reported. While he waited, Callaghan bought himself an egg sandwich to curb his hunger. When Callaghan and his fellow travelers were allowed to board, the Etihad Airways flight offered the passengers what Callaghan described as a “tomato, cheesy, chicken pasta.” “It did smell a bit weird but all plane food kind of does,” Callaghan said. He ate it anyway and put on a movie.
‘I threw up probably about 30 times,’ he said.
Twenty minutes after eating, that pasta would come back around. “I had diarrhea twice and 10 minutes after that I was just constantly throwing up for the duration of the flight,” Callaghan recounted. “I threw up probably about 30 times.” Callaghan said by the end of the flight he was laying in the fetal position because he’d emptied his body. “I couldn’t even stand up,” he continued.
Callaghan’s sickness was so bad he had to sit at the back of the plane while a flight attendant kept a bathroom unoccupied for his sole use.
He needed help to exit the plane.
Callaghan said he was embarrassed having other passengers walking past the bathroom seeing him in such a state of duress. By the time the plane landed, Callaghan was so weak he couldn’t lift his head and had to be helped off the plane.
“They had to get a wheelchair and they wheeled me to the medical room in Abu Dhabi’s airport,” Callaghan recalled. In Abu Dhabi, a doctor examined him and administered an IV with an anti-sickness drip.
His sickness interfered with his trip.
The treatment worked well enough for Callaghan to make his second flight to Thailand, but the apparent food poisoning still hadn’t run its full course. He still felt weak and dehydrated. “The next two or three days after arriving in Bangkok I was just bed-bound,” he said. “It was only on the third day I actually left the hotel and started exploring.”
Callaghan thinks the pasta was the cause of his pain and suffering. “I believe the food had been sitting out since the original time the plane was supposed to take off and not been stored properly.” He claims he felt fine for three hours after the egg sandwich and didn’t eat anything else between that and the tomato dish.
Etihad said no other passengers complained of sickness.
A spokesperson from Etihad doesn’t believe their in-flight meal was the culprit. “We take all such matters very seriously and investigate thoroughly,” the spokesperson said. “Our food on this flight, as with all our flights, was prepared and stored under strict temperature-controlled conditions to ensure safety and quality.”
The spokesperson also made sure to note that Callaghan was the only passenger who reported feeling ill on the international flight. “We did not receive any reports of illness from other passengers on this flight who were served the same meal. Our first priority is always the safety and well-being of our passengers and crew.”
Callaghan wants an apology.
Callaghan is not convinced, and he’s not too happy with Etihad’s response to the whole ordeal. “It’s unprofessional how they’ve handled everything,” he said. Callaghan would like an apology, and an acknowledgement that their meal caused his sickness. Callaghan was so soured by the experience that he’s afraid to take the return trip.
“After what I’ve been through, I don’t really want to get on a plane so I’m stuck in Thailand at the minute,” Callaghan said. “I’m going to starve myself on the flight back so this doesn’t happen again.”
