Plane forced to land mid-flight after Leeds girl, 8, suffers epileptic seizure as family hit out at TUI
A Leeds woman has thanked cabin crew and passengers who sprung into action to help her daughter as she suffered an epileptic seizure on a plane mid-flight.
The flight from Alicante to East Midlands Airport had to land in Barcelona on Tuesday (July 30) after Raven Norfolk, 8, had the medical episode.
Raven’s mum Phoebe, has said that cabin crew and two passengers who worked for the health service helped her daughter after she suffered “one of the worst seizures” she has had.
However, Mrs Norfolk said that when they returned to the airport in Barcelona after going to the hospital with Raven and her husband Mark they were unable to organise a flight home with TUI. She claimed that the crew on the plane told the family that they would be taken care of, in terms of flying back to the UK, as they exited the aircraft.
She said instead they had to borrow money from family to pay more than £600 to book new flights home that evening with Ryanair.
Raven has myoclonic astatic epilepsy, which is a rare childhood epilepsy syndrome that causes generalised seizures that “generally last a short amount of time”. Mrs Norfolk added that the family have never been advised not to travel.
The family-of-three, who live in Harehills, had been in Alicante for a week and had a “really good time” in the “boiling” heat.
Mrs Norfolk said that at breakfast on the morning that they were flying home Raven had suffered a minor seizure that lasted “less than a minute”.
She told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “We spoke with TUI and they said we would get assistance at the airport.
“Everything went fine when we got there and she was being her usual happy, giggling little self.”
As soon as the flight took off at 12.30pm Raven said she needed to go the bathroom, Mrs Norfolk said, and as she returned down the aisle with her dad she “just collapsed”.
Mrs Norfolk said: “She was on the floor shaking. Everyone turned toward her.
“At breakfast it was only about 30 seconds but on the plane it must have lasted around five minutes.
“Everyone was really good. People were offering to help. Two women - one was a doctor and one was a nurse - took care of her.”
The pilot opted to divert the flight due to the medical emergency and Raven stayed on the floor as the plane landed in Barcelona.
When they landed she was taken straight to the hospital. Mrs Norfolk said that, fortunately, “she was fine” and was discharged after an hour. However, the family’s insurance providers said they wouldn’t cover the fees as it was a private hospital.
When they returned to the airport at 4.30pm, Mrs Norfolk said that she called up the customer support team at TUI over booking flights home but they “said they can’t do anything”.
She said: “When we got off the flight they said we shouldn’t worry and that TUI would help us get back home but they didn’t.
“It’s not alright considering they said they we would get help and then we were stuck in the airport not knowing what to do. It was very stressful.”
The family had to borrow money to help pay over £600 for flights home from Barcelona to East Midlands Airport that left shortly before 10pm.
Mrs Norfolk said: “We had just spent over £200 on hospital fees so we are really struggling now.”
Mrs Norfolk said she was now waiting hear back from insurance providers to see whether they would cover the flight cost.
She added: “It was such a long and difficult day and I was just so happy to get home.”
The YEP contacted TUI for comment.