Baby with spots barred from BA plane in case she was contagious

A baby girl with a rare condition which produces spots on her skin was barred from travelling on a British Airways flight until her mother could prove she was not contagious.

One-year-old Stephanie Brown, from Mirfield, West Yorks, suffers from a strain of paediatric Diffuse Cutaneous Mastocytosis (DCM) in which itchy spots and hives can appear on the skin. The little-known condition, the result of the body producing too many of a type of blood cell called mast cells, is not contagious.

But when her mother Maria was flying back from Australia after attending a family wedding with her daughter, a connecting flight from London to Manchester was held up after passengers complained about the child's skin.



A young boy pointed at her and remarked, "That girl's got spots", leading to complaints from his family. While the other passengers boarded, Mrs Brown had to wait to show medical papers proving her daughter did not have a contagious disease before being allowed on the aircraft as the pilot prepared to take off.

"I couldn't look at anyone as I got on and all of the passengers were sat there waiting to leave," said Mrs Brown. "I didn't speak to anyone and I cried all the way to Manchester."

She added that misunderstandings stemming from ignorance about the condition were widespread. "We have cleared a full shop before, with people fearing they would catch something," she said.