Shocking reason Jetstar kicked cancer patient off flight
A 64-year-old Toowoomba man with incurable prostate cancer has been kicked off a Jetstar flight in a humiliating confrontation that left him “nearly crying”.
Kevin Eden was on his way home to Gold Coast from a trip to watch his beloved Chelsea football team play in Perth on July 23.
After his team won, Kevin made his way to the airport to return home to his wife, Sandy. But that’s when things started to go awry for Kevin whose cancer has left him incontinent and reliant on disposable underwear.
“I was trying to get out to go to the toilet when we were at the top level and the toilets were down the bottom, that's when I had the leak,” he told 9Honey.
Kevin had spare underwear in his carry-on luggage, but was rushed onto the plane and not given the opportunity to change.
That was when Kevin said he suffered the most embarrassing moment he'd ever endured.
An air hostess approached him and very publicly asked if he had “an accident”.
“That's when I got really embarrassed because people could hear,” he said.
Kevin said he was asked to leave the plane and he was so “confused and embarrassed” he was rendered silent.
“I was nearly crying and there were all these people listening, and then to be walked out while all these passengers were coming in… I'm still totally confused,” he said.
But Kevin’s ordeal didn’t end there as Jetstar's next available flight was days later.
With no accommodation booked, spare clothes or medication packed for a trip which was never supposed to be longer than one day, Kevin was forced to spend the night at the airport.
“I thought I could find a cheap hotel but at that time of night I was out of luck. So I was basically on the street until 2pm the next afternoon,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
“But I was more worried about how my wife was going to take all this with her anxiety attacks.”
Kevin was also left out of pocket as he had to pay for accommodation, travel, food and new clothes while waiting in Perth for the next flight.
Kevin said he did not blame the air hostesses, but wished flight attendants were better trained to prevent a similar situation from happening again.
A Jetstar spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia the company was “very sorry to hear of Mr Eden's experience”.
“Our crew on board and customers were concerned about Mr Eden's welfare and comfort ahead of travelling on a six hour flight,” she said.
“We appreciate this was a very difficult situation and apologise that Mr Eden felt our teams did not support him as best they could.”