Family's travel nightmare as they're struck down with vomiting bug on flight

A family's journey home to Leamington Spa turned into a nightmare that resembled a "scene from The Exorcist", leaving them feeling abandoned and unwell.

Bianca Perry, 45, her husband David, also 45, and their three children Lauren, 15, Belle, 11, and William, eight, had spent six blissful weeks in Brazil before disaster struck on theirreturn flight.

The horror began mid-flight when young William suddenly fell violently ill after eating the in-flight meal, and it wasn't long before Belle, David and Bianca were similarly affected.

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Only eldest child Lauren, who had avoided the meat casserole served, managed to escape the gut-wrenching illness.

Upon landing at Lisbon's Humberto Delgado Airport in the early hours of 2 September, the family were seen vomiting uncontrollably at the gate as shocked fellow passengers looked on.

However, instead of rushing to help them, they claim airline staff treated them like a "problem", allegedly refusing Bianca's desperate pleas for assistance and a wheelchair for her husband, who was still recovering from painful dental surgery.

"The whole dinner was on the floor in front of everyone," said Bianca, who hosts her own cooking show, speaking to NeedToKnow. "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 claims that TAP Air Portugal staff advised them against boarding their connecting flight due to their illness.

They were suggested to take the next flight, but the family claims they were not informed that this wouldn't be until 7pm the following day on 3 September. This left them scrambling to find and pay for their own £330-a-night hotel and transport without any assistance.

Bianca stated: "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 got worse.

Bianca had to help David – still in agony with stitches in his mouth – through the lobby as he was sick repeatedly. Both Belle and William were still poorly too, leaving the family desperately washing vomit-covered clothes in the bathroom sink and trying to rest between bouts of illness.

And when they finally got back to the airport the following day, the ordeal wasn't finished. Back in the UK, Bianca's suitcase containing vital menopause medication had reportedly vanished whilst another turned up damaged.

When it was later discovered, she was informed she would either have to retrieve it herself or fork out a £45 delivery charge. Left with no alternative, David made the trek to collect the suitcase, knowing the medication was desperately required.

Bianca revealed: "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 firmly believe their sickness stemmed from the airline meal – alleging they observed other passengers also falling ill following the flight.

Bianca continued: "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.