By Ben Hurst,Owen Younger

Copyright walesonline

A mother and daughter from Westerhope were left stunned after being ejected from a Jet2 flight home over concerns relating to the 17 year old’s type 1 diabetes. Lee Kelly and 17 year old Tessy Kelly-Hester were attempting to return from Lanzarote following a week of sunshine when they were ordered off the aircraft. Tessy received her type 1 diabetes diagnosis four and a half years ago, with her mother Lee supporting her in controlling the condition ever since. The duo have travelled widely and never encountered any prior difficulties on flights, including their outbound journey to the Canary Island. No problems occurred when Lee and Tessy boarded the 8.50pm flight, but trouble began when Tessy monitored her blood sugar levels aboard the aircraft, discovering they were marginally below the standard range at 3.6, reports Chronicle Live . Lee then requested a bag in case her daughter felt unwell, which triggered the incident. Lee, 58, explained: “Tessy’s blood sugar levels can often dip below the normal level when she is a bit stressed, so it is a normal thing to happen when we’re about to fly. “When I spoke to a member of staff, they started asking a lot of questions, including when she had last eaten, so I told them that she had food in the airport. They kept going back and forth to the manager who was speaking to MedAire about what they should do, but I didn’t see what the issue was. “After around half an hour of this, we were told that there was no one on the plane who was qualified to assist a diabetic, which I felt was strange as I am able to help her with anything she needs. They said we had to leave the plane which I was shocked about, and that we had to get a fit to fly certificate in order to get back on another Jet2 service home. “My daughter was saying ‘I’ll do my blood sugar again’, as she had eaten something by this point, and she measured at 6.7, but we were told that the decision had been made and they were in the process of getting our bags off. “I didn’t know what to think at this point, as it felt as if they were singling out Tessy for a condition that she can’t do anything about, and now we were going to be stranded in Lanzarote. I don’t know what she would have done if I hadn’t been there and it just felt unfair to me.” Fortunately, Lee and Tessy managed to secure accommodation at a nearby hotel for the evening at a cost of £250 with assistance from airport staff, and Lee subsequently spent approximately £380 on flights home the next day with an alternative carrier. Now that she has returned home, Tessy has had the opportunity to consider her feelings when she was informed she couldn’t travel. Tessy shared: “I felt like I was isolated and alone in that moment, and to be honest I just burst out crying, I couldn’t stop myself from getting really upset at what was going on. It all added to the stress and it made me not want to fly anymore because of the way that I felt. “It would just be nice to know how it happened and to get a bit of an explanation, as I know other people who are in the same position as me and I think it wouldn’t be right for them to be kicked off a flight in the same situation.” In response, Jet2 has stated that its staff were following the advice of qualified medical experts at MedAire, and encouraged Lee and Tessy to contact them directly. A spokesperson for Jet2 said: “We can confirm that Ms Kelly alerted our team to the fact that Miss Kelly-Hester was feeling unwell when boarding the aircraft. “Our crew followed standard procedure for any medical concerns and sought advice from qualified medical experts at MedAire, who advised that Miss Kelly-Hester should not fly on medical grounds. “As an award-winning airline, our number one priority will always be the health and safety of our customers, which is why we take the advice of MedAire. Since returning from their holiday, we have not received any contact from Ms Kelly. “We always encourage customers to contact us directly if they wish to discuss anything to do with their holiday, so that we can assist. We always advise customers to take out appropriate travel insurance in case of incidents such as this.” Lee confirmed she had insurance for the holiday and stated she would now be reaching out to Jet2 directly regarding this matter.