London - A heavily pregnant woman was forced to undergo a humiliating medical examination on a packed plane to prove that she was fit to fly.
Kerry Deane was horrified when staff on the Thomson Holidays flight ordered her to the front of the plane in front of passengers to be checked by two doctors in an area where food is prepared.
Deane, who was 35 weeks pregnant, and showing no signs of going into labour, was eventually escorted off the flight with her partner and three young children.
This was despite the 32-year-old carrying documentation from her GP stating that she was fit to travel.
Then, instead of the usual four-hour flight from Tunisia to Glasgow, the family had to endure a 19-hour marathon before finally stepping through their front door.
Deane said: ‘The way were treated was an absolute disgrace, and we haven’t even had an apology from Thomson.
‘To say it was an ordeal is an understatement. I was upset and sobbing, but they didn’t take any notice, and just kept saying: “It’ll be OK”.’
Miss Deane, who was pregnant with son Hudson, now three months old, was due to fly out of Tunisia after a week away when she was approached on board and told that she had to be examined by medical staff based at Enfidha airport.
The women doctors took her blood pressure and checked her bump, before carrying out an intrusive examination in the plane’s front galley.
Miss Deane said: ‘They didn’t carry out the examination in any sort of sterile way. And I can’t believe we were thrown off the plane as it was obvious I was not in labour.’
She said she was left fearing she would have to stay in Tunisia to give birth.
‘How do you get home from Tunisia if you cannot fly?’ Deane said.
‘I was thinking, I’m stuck here for at least seven weeks. What about my children? I only had a week’s clothes.’
After being taken off the plane last September, Deane, her partner and children Broxon, ten, Alicia, nine, and Garyn, six, then had a 19-hour ordeal to get home.
First they had a lengthy wait for a flight to Newcastle – rather than their preferred destination of Glasgow. As a result they then had to sit on a minibus to get to their home in Kilsyth, North Lanarkshire.
Deane said that the family was not offered any vouchers for food or water while they waited for the later flight, and said she ran up a £100 phone bill calling relatives in distress.
She added: ‘You go with these big companies because you think they have procedures, but it means nothing.
‘It’s crazy. The whole situation shows how you have no rights. We cannot protect ourselves.’ Before flying, Miss Deane had sought the advice of her GP on four occasions, and said she checked with Thomson as instructed by their staff because she was concerned about the timing of the holiday, which she had booked before she was aware she was pregnant.
She said she even requested her GP to fax documentation permitting her to fly to Thomson’s headquarters.
However, Thomson, whose rules state a woman can fly up to 36 weeks pregnant, has distanced itself from the incident, claiming that the flight was operated by a third party.
A spokesman said: ‘We are sorry to hear of Miss Deane’s experience on the return from her holiday in Tunisia.
‘On this occasion the flight was not operated by us but by a third party airline. As every airline has its own policy regarding flying during pregnancy we advised Miss Deane to speak directly to this airline prior to travel to avoid any potential issues.
‘As we understand Miss Deane has instructed a solicitor, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.’
Daily Mail