Daniele Panunzio said he was unfairly denied boarding
Daniele Panunzio competing at the Gelato World Masters(Image: Daniele Panunzio)
The owner of an award-winning ice cream shop says he missed out on winning a global competition because of overly zealous staff at Bristol Airport.
Daniele Panunzio, who runs the eponymous Panunzio’s gelateria on Cotham Hill, travelled to Italy on October 29 to compete in the European heats of the World Gelato Masters.
Although he performed the best out of any UK entrants, he finished 3rd in his group and fractionally missed out on the chance to progress in the competition. Mr Panunzio said his bittersweet performance could partly be attributed to ‘heavy-handed treatment’ by security staff at Bristol Airport, who did not let the bag containing his all-important gelato mix on the plane because it looked ‘suspicious’.
This led to the ingredients he took to compete with being out of the fridge for far longer than they would otherwise have been.
“The delay meant I arrived in Bologna about 24 hours after leaving Bristol,” he said. “Unfortunately, that affected the gelato mix quality, and it wasn’t as perfect as usual. I’m really excited to be the UK champion and to have placed third in Europe in my group, even if the travel hiccup impacted my performance. Honestly, I believe I could have won if everything had gone smoothly.”
Mr Panunzio was eventually able to complete his journey by travelling all the way to Luton Airport, where he said his bag was scanned and given the all clear in a matter of seconds. The problems at Bristol Airport occurred despite the fact that the liquid mixture was in his hold luggage, rather than carry-on.
He said he had called ahead to the airport multiple times to make sure his bag would be okay to check in. He said this was the first time he had had issues when travelling with equipment or ingredients for his award-winning gelato.
Panunzio’s has won multiple awards since opening in 2022, including being voted the best dessert shop in Bristol for the past two years running. During the summer months, the queue for the shop is frequently out of the door.
A Bristol Airport spokesperson said safety would always come first. “We’re sorry to hear the passenger missed out on progressing in the competition, but safety and security will always be the priority for air travel,” the spokesperson said.
“Passengers wanting to travel with unusual items in their hold luggage are advised to check with their airline in advance and notify staff when dropping off their bags. We would urge this customer to contact us directly, so we are able to investigate.”
Mr Panunzio gave the response short shrift, adding that he had never had issues with similar baggage when flying out of any other airport.
“The airport should have suggested (that I) contact the airline to double check instead of saying several times “don’t worry you can bring as much liquids as you want in your hold luggage,” he said. “Everyone is passing the buck instead of taking responsibility.”
