Travelling with a liquid diet for active Crohns to Europe by Air! My experience and tips on how to make it as smooth and trouble free as possible.
I am currently on a restricted liquid diet of Ensure Plus and Ensure Compact (with a few core foods allowed) due to a recent flare and subsequent hospitalisation for Crohns and Ileus of the small bowel (basically it was actively stricturing and had stopped working 2 wks post stopping my last treatment of Rinvoq).
I spent a week in hospital under the guidance of St Marks Bowel Specialists at Central Middlesex Hospital and was sent home just 3 days before my husband and I were due to fly to Lanzarote for a recuperation break, ironically booked as i had been slowly getting more sick lately and was over doing it in life in general!
I was on a high dose steroid, had a stinking cold but was determined to go but with the flight restrictions on liquids it was not looking easy! The current legislation at Gatwick Airport (and most of the world) was liquids in small amounts under 100 ml only in the cabin. I had no hold luggage booked and was worried…
My first port of call was to EasyJet special Assistance team, the call was answered within minutes and they were amazing and accommodating, not even sounding phased by my request, which to put in perspective, was to carry bottles of Ensure liquid nutrition, enough for days.
(Not sponsored in anyway by anyone)
The assistant that took my call was very empathetic and did not hesitate to offer me an additional cabin bag, FREE of charge for both of my flights out and back. She understood my reluctance to put it in the hold in case it went astray and I was left without for a week.
All I needed was to contact my prescriber (in this case the specialist Dietician Consultant at St Marks) and request a covering letter for EasyJet, and to reprint my boarding pass! That really was it. Amazed and excited, I emailed the dietitian right away!
The ward I was on at the hospital worked to gather enough supplies for the few days before I went and to cover the week away for me to take home.
My dietician was delighted to be able to help as she knew how badly i needed a rest, she put together the letter and sent it over to me on email and that really was it! We were on our way!
At Gatwick airport we entered departures via the special assistance entrance and explained to the security I had 25 bottles of liquid with a prescription etc, they sent it on through the scanner and checked me over.
They were respectful and caring, despite the fact the poor security staff had to then scan each and every bottle in the machine to ensure it held what it should. It took about 20 mins but he was patient and thorough and to be honest I would be worried if they didn't check. They didn't have to open any and after a swab of the case, they repacked it and I was on my way!
At the boarding gate I simply showed the attendant the letter explaining what I was carrying and why I had an additional cabin case, they had a quick look and welcomed me onto the aircraft with speedy boarding 🙂 That really was it! As simple as taking normal goods in and much less traumatic than I anticipated.
The Return Flight from Lanzarote (Arrecife) to Gatwick!
Heading home I still had a few drinks I wanted to bring back as we were flying at dinner time and I couldn't eat what was available on the flight or airport.
Again I was anxious as I didn't have the letter in Spanish and had no idea how to navigate it that way but off we went with x 250ml drinks in my case (along with a few purchases i made that i could now fit in my empty case, win win!).
We went through the normal departure gate, I put the drinks in the grey box for scanning and once I was through the scanned, no issues at all, I went to the staff looking at the contents on the belt. I showed them my letter which they did not worry to check but seemed to understand. They went off and again put my few bottles in the machine to scan the contents and once satisfied, gave it to me and wished me well on my way! I was so relieved and amazed at how efficient and ware everyone was.
At the plan, again I mentioned I had an extra bag with medical needs and the attendant wished me well and we were on our way!
I wanted to share this as the thought of it all filled me with dread, when in fact it was probably one of the most relaxed and easy flights I have had in years.
Lanzarote was fabulous despite it all and i am so glad we went! I will be back to enjoy the local cuisine as soon as I can!
I absolutely thank all the staff involved at EasyJet, Gatwick and Lanzarote (Arrecife) airport as well as the amazing support from my consultants and the NHS to enable me to travel. I will definitely highly recommend and use EasyJet again!
Thank you for reading and I hope it helps someone facing the same!
Love from Andrea x
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