• Home
  • Post a press-release
  • Visibility packages
  • Subscribe email updates
  • Event Calendar
  • Contact

For Immediate Release | Official News Wire for the Travel Industry

Where press releases are breaking news

  • Home
  • Post a press-release
  • Visibility packages
  • Subscribe email updates
  • Event Calendar
  • Contact

Korean Air abandons teens in South Korea

March 27, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Two unaccompanied teenage minors, ages 15 and 16, were left stranded in South Korea after being booted from their flight from Seoul to the Philippines before takeoff.

The sons of Rakesh and Prajakta Patel had gone to visit their grandfather in a hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, and were on the return journey to Manila, where their father is working a temporary job. They were making the transatlantic trip on their own.

The return trip began with a 14-hour Delta flight from Georgia to Seoul, South Korea. This first leg of the journey went fine, but their travel plans took a turn for the worse when the boys attempted to board a second flight from Seoul to Manila with Delta partner Korean Air as a result of one of the boys having a deadly peanut allergy.

Prajakta Patel, the mother of the teens, had informed Delta of her older son’s severe peanut allergy ahead of their big trip, so the brothers were shocked when a gate agent told them that peanuts would be served in the high skies. The boy’s allergy is so severe that even airborne particulates from peanuts could be extremely dangerous.

 

After explaining the situation, the teens were allegedly told that they could either take the flight or exit the aircraft and miss the trip. Though the Patel’s sons chose to board the plane, they were soon booted off.

“The gate agent came on the plane and told my sons to get off,” Mrs. Patel said. “One of my kids was shaking — they’re alone in a different country. Where were they supposed to go?” Mrs. Prajakta claimed that the gate agent even pulled on her son’s shirt “to encourage him to move” off of the aircraft.

Confused, the teens found themselves back in the gate area and told flight officials that they were willing to sit in the back of the plane with the brother with nut allergies wearing a mask. Despite their offer to compromise, a gate staffer reportedly told the boys that were not allowed to get back on the plane that was now “closed.”

Shaken, the boys called their parents, who tried to help them get to Manila without success. The mother spoke with a Delta representative who told her the boys could fly on a different carrier, however, not knowing other airlines’ nut policies, it was decided to fly the boys back to Atlanta, Georgia, on Delta.

Mrs. Patel is pushing for more than just an apology with the hopes that airlines will improve their employee education policies on nut allergies. She has filed a complaint with Delta and Korean Airlines and is reportedly seeking a refund.

Delta and Korean Air issued the following statements regarding the matter: “We’re sorry for this family’s ordeal, particularly during what is already a difficult time for them. Delta and our partner Korean Air are communicating with the family and examining the processes surrounding this incident; we will use our findings in our work to create a consistent experience for customers flying Delta and our partner airlines.”

A spokesperson for Korean Air, too, offered similar sentiments: “Korean Air is aware that peanut and food allergies are an industry issue and no airline can guarantee a food allergy-free environment. But we are reviewing ways to deal with this issue in a safe and feasible way. We totally understand the risks faced by passengers with nut and food allergies and will certainly try to accommodate them better in the future.”

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, apology, area, Atlanta, Aviation News, aviation-website, Aware, better, big, board, booted, boys, Breaking Travel News, carrier, closed, complaint, compromise, country, create, customers, dangerous, deadly, deal, decided, Delta, Delta flight, different, Education, employee, environment, even, exit, experience, Family, father, Feature, findings, fine, first, flight, fly by, Flying, following, food, found, free, future, Gate, Georgia, get off, GO!, guarantee, help, high, hopes, hospital, improve, in, incident, Industry, issued, IT, job, journey, just, kids, Korea, Korean, Korean Air, Korean Airlines, Manila, matter, miss, Mother, move, Mrs, nbsp, News articles, offer, officials, parents, particularly, partner, partner airlines, passengers, peanuts, Philippines, plans, policies, processes, pulled, refund, representative, return, risks, s, safe, said, second, Seoul, severe, situation, skies, soon, South, South Korea, South Korea travel news, statements, stranded, success, takeoff, teens, temporary, the Philippines, time, to, told, transatlantic, Transportation News, Travel, travel plans, Travelwire News, tried, trip, turn, use, visit, way, ways, We, went, were, WHO, work, working

Search




Recent Articles

  • Bartlett Presents PM Holness’ Vision and Plans for Negril
  • Gay-Friendly Malta Hosts EuroPride Valletta 2023
    September 7 to 17, 2023
  • Destination Assurance Key to Tourism Success – Bartlett
  • The St. Regis Venice Triumphs at Marriott’s EMEA General Manager’s Conference 2023
  • The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Aviation & Investments Returns to SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo under the theme ‘Soaring into The Bahamas GoldenJubilee’
  • Kingston Cops Award for Best Creative Destination for 2023
  • Jamaica Tourist Board Announces Retirement of Donnie Dawson
  • Curacao is Calling with Enticing Escapes
  • Frankfurt Airport: 2023 Summer Flight Schedule with New Destinations and Increased Seating Capacities
  • Minister Bartlett Welcomes Resurgence of Villas Sub-Sector

Subscribe to daily email update

RSS eTN Articles

  • Sabre & Plan3 Provide Airlines with Holistic Disruption Managemen …
  • New General Manager at Vibe Hotel Adelaide
  • Cornwall Airport Newquay on Track for Full Recovery
  • Fitness and Wellness at Regent Porto Montenegro
  • Mexico’s Hilton Monterrey Hotel Now Open
  • Volotea Doubles Operations from Milan Bergamo
  • China Returns to Arabian Travel Market
  • Marriott: More Than 500 Hotels in Greater China
  • More Romania Flights from Budapest
  • Lufthansa Group Joins First Movers Coalition

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • August 2016

Content

and Breaking Travel News Business CEO experience first free hotel Hotels in including Industry International International Travel News IT minister most New News articles only over People s said sandals The World through time to TO BE tourism Tours Transportation News Travel Travel & Tourism Organizations News Travel Destination News Travelwire News up We were WHO World World News year years

Copyright © 2023 · Metro Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in