Emirates has said it is investigating after a woman claims to have been given the wrong in-flight food, sparking what turned into what she called described as the "worst flight of her life".
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 and says she ordered a gluten-free in-flight meal on her journey between Dubai and Los Angeles, but claims she was served a croissant which did not meet the dietary requirement.
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."
The 25-year-old content creator said she was served breakfast on a tray labelled 'gluten free' an hour into the flight, which included a tasty-looking croissant.
The pastry did not have a gluten-free sticker, and Chlo said after eating half of it she began to think it tasted 'too good' to be gluten-free, and checked with a flight attendant.
Chlo claims they returned ashen-faced and confirmed it wasn't gluten free.
Posting a video on TikTok describing the alleged ordeal, Chlo explained: "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."
