As 24-year-old Beth Evans and her boyfriend, 26-year-old Joshua Moran, boarded their Emirates flight to Dubai, Beth remarked that she had period cramps.
It was a tiny remark, akin to saying “the air-con in this plane is way too cold” or “I hope we get the whole row to ourselves”.
But a flight attendant overheard Beth’s complaint, and within moments of the couple sitting down and fastening their seatbelts, they were asked to disembark the plane.
According to The Sun, Beth had scored her pain a “one out of ten” and said she was more than happy to deal with the cramps during the seven-hour flight from Birmingham Airport in the UK.
The crew wanted Beth to be examined by a doctor before flying, and with no-one available on board, they were asked to leave.
"To be kicked off for period pains, it was madness," Joshua told The Sun.
"Beth was in tears and getting upset when the hostess was asking her questions.
LISTEN: A genius man is suggesting we glue our vaginas shut to solve the whole 'period problem'. The Mamamia Out Loud team discuss. Post continues after audio...
"It's embarrassing to have to explain about period pains when it's being overheard."
Joshua added the plane's crew "contacted a medical team in the US" who said Beth couldn't fly. The couple were then forced to shell out over AU$440 each to rebook their holiday flights.
A spokesman for Emirates told The Sun that Beth had "alerted crew that she was suffering from discomfort and pain" before the flight.
"The captain made the decision to request medical support and offload Ms Evans so she could access medical assistance," the spokesman said.
"We would not have wanted to endanger Ms Evans by delaying medical help had she worsened during the flight."
While every airline's policy differs, most have the right to refuse passengers who have conditions which may worsen during a flight.
Members of the cabin crew are required to notify the plane's captain if they notice any passenger who may be ill, or who may become more ill, during the trip, and many airlines are not required to offer refunds to passengers who are asked to leave a flight for these reasons.
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