A family whose travel nightmare looked like a “scene from The Exorcist” were left stranded and sick after their flight home to from Leamington Spa turned into chaos.
Bianca Perry and her husband David, both 45, and their three children Lauren, 15, Belle, 11, and William, eight, had spent six weeks in Brazil before disaster happened upon their return.
The horror began mid-air when William suddenly fell violently ill after the in-flight dinner – and it wasn’t long before Belle, David and Bianca were also struck down.
Only the eldest daughter Lauren – who didn’t eat the meat casserole provided – managed to avoid the stomach-churning sickness.
By the time the plane landed at Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport early on 2 September, the family were projectile vomiting at the gate as shocked passengers watched on.
But instead of rushing to their aid, they claim airline staff allegedly treated them like a “problem” – reportedly refusing Bianca’s desperate pleas for help and a wheelchair for her husband, who was still recovering from painful oral surgery.
“The whole dinner was on the floor in front of everyone,” Bianca, who presents her own cooking show,” told Need To Know.
“When we got off the plane, my daughter was sick in front of everyone.
“It was like a scene from The Exorcist.
“The airline staff weren’t looking at us like, ‘Are they okay? Can we do something?’
“They were looking at us like we were a problem.”
The family say TAP Air Portugal staff advised them not to board their connecting flight due to their sickness.
They recommended being transferred onto the next flight but the family say they were unaware that this wasn’t until 7pm the following day on 3 September.
It meant they were left to find and fund their own £330-a-night hotel and transport without any support.
Bianca said: “We were scared to be sick on the plane; we weren’t sure if we had a bug and didn’t want to share it around the flight.
“When we accepted the offer of the new flight, we didn’t think it would be at 7pm the next day.
“They were so rude on another level.
“They just had no empathy – and thank Goodness I can speak Portuguese.”
At the hotel, the nightmare only continued.
Bianca had to push David – still in agony with stitches in his mouth – through the lobby as he repeatedly vomited.
Both Belle and William were still unwell too, leaving the family to frantically rinse sick-soaked clothes in the bathroom sink and try to rest in between bouts of illness.
And when they finally returned to the airport the following day, the ordeal wasn’t over.
Back in the UK, Bianca’s suitcase containing essential menopause medication had reportedly gone missing while another arrived broken.
When it was later found, she was told she would either have to collect it herself or pay a £45 delivery fee.
With no choice, David made the journey to collect the case, knowing the medication was urgently needed.
Bianca said: “There was no assistance whatsoever from them.
“We had to hand-wash vomit-covered clothes in the hotel.
“We were vomiting in the lobby.
“It was a nightmare.”
The family strongly suspect their illness came from the airline meal – claiming they noticed other passengers also being sick after the flight.
Bianca said: “Our experience with TAP Air Portugal was truly distressing on many levels.
“Despite being in a vulnerable and difficult situation, we were left to deal with everything ourselves.
“The lack of empathy and assistance was shocking – we were treated with disregard, not even as people, let alone as customers.
“No one deserves to be treated this way, especially not by a company of this size and visibility.
“It’s not just disappointing – it feels inhumane.”
TAP Air Portugal has been approached for comment.
