Passenger with nut allergy saved after anaphylactic shock on Virgin Australia flight

People reports that Andrew Rawle, who has allergies to nuts and some medications, went into anaphylactic shock on a Virgin Australia flight to Newman on Sunday, Jan. 4, and was helped by cabin crew and a fellow passenger.

Rawle told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that after being offered cheese and crackers he said contained no allergens he began to feel his throat closing and "just immediately jumped up, knowing that in my hand luggage I had an EpiPen." He used his own EpiPen and later, after a second wave about 20 minutes on when his throat started to tense up again, a stranger provided another EpiPen. Cabin crew brought him oxygen and searched for a doctor onboard; when none was found the pilots, Rawle said, "absolutely punched it" to Newman so he could reach medical treatment in time.

When the plane landed an ambulance was waiting to give him adrenaline and take him to a nearby hospital. According to ABC, most cabin crews are trained to manage anaphylaxis and an EpiPen is usually part of an emergency kit, but Rawle’s particular flight did not have one available. He told ABC he believes the reaction may have been caused by touching the safety card, which he said may have contained traces of food from a prior flight, and he thanked the crew and the passenger who stepped in to help; Virgin Australia did not immediately respond to the outlet’s request for comment on the incident.

Key Topics

Health, Andrew Rawle, Virgin Australia, Anaphylaxis, Epipen, Newman