Prohibit All commercial airlines flying into, out of, or within the United States from serving Nuts

The Air Carriers Act states that an airline may not refuse transportation to a passenger solely on the basis of a disability. The purpose of the Air Carriers Access Act was to improve airtravel for persons with disabilities and was designed to minimize the special problems that they may encounter while traveling by air. Under federal laws such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the United States Department of Transportation considers peanut allergies a disability however this is not recognized by the airline industry.

Currently, each carrier have their own policies as to how they will accommodate passengers with peanut allergies. Few airlines will make an announcement advising other passengers that someone with allergies are on board and to please refrain from eating nuts during the flight or to notify the flight crew so that other seating arrangements can be made for the passenger. The policy of most airlines states that do not offer nut-free buffer zones and they cannot remove peanuts at the request of one customer. They cannot guarantee nut-free flights and encourage customers to review any health concerns with their doctors before flying. They also strongly suggest customers to take all necessary medical precautions to prepare for the possibility of exposure. Basically, the passenger has to fly at their own risk, which is not fair and violates the passenger’s rights, as stated by Americans with Disabilities Act, requiring public entities and public accommodations must ensure that individuals with disabilities must have full access to and equal enjoyment of all facilities, programs, goods and services.

The Americans with Disabilities Act is a civil rights law that also gives us the right to ask for changes where policies, practices, or conditions that exclude or puts someone a disadvantage. Therefore, I am proposing that the Air Carriers Access Act be amended to specifically include persons with peanut allergies:

Prohibiting all commercial airlines flying to, from, and within the United States from serving meals and snacks containing peanuts and/or peanut related products. Also, prohibit passengers from opening and consuming food containing or made with nuts and nut related products.”

Why now?

According to a study released in 2013 by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, food allergies among children increased about 50% between 1997 and 2011 and that number has continued to rise substantially each year. Peanuts are one of the top eight allergens that can cause death and of all the food allergies, peanuts account for 90 percent of all reactions. And while all allergens can leave traces, peanuts are the only one of the top eight allergens that is a common snack served by most airlines.

A person allergic to nuts can have a reaction that range from hives and an itchy throat to anaphylaxis shock and death. Once an anaphylactic reaction starts, medication must be administered and immediate emergency medical attention is necessary. Epinephrine only stabilizes the person for twenty minutes and it is recommended that the maximum of only three be given at one time. Meaning that that the person only has at most 60 minutes before they must have emergency medical attention. Landing a plane is not the same as calling the ambulance. You cannot just pull over a plane and there needs to be an airport within an hour for the plan to land or else the person could die.

How about buffer zones?

Buffer zones are a great start but because food particles (peanut dust) containing nut proteins can become airborne someone may still have a reaction. This might occur, for example, by cracking open a peanut shell that disperses particles in the air. Inhaling peanut protein in this type of situation could cause an allergic reaction. Anaphylactic shock usually does not occur from smelling peanut dust but can, such as in the case of a Sacramento women who filed a lawsuit against United Airlines in 2013 because a passenger four rows in front of her ate some peanuts that they brought from home. The pilot had to divert the plane and she was hospitalized for two days.

What about making an announcement?

An announcement is made on a per flight basis. If there is no one on that particular flight with an allergy then the passengers on that flight can enjoy their peanuts, potentially leaving peanuts or its dust on the airplane. If there is a person with an allergy on the next flight on the same plane, then it is possible for a person to have a reaction.

Also, what happened when a fellow passenger don’t adhere to the announcement which was the case aboard a RyanAir flight in August of 2014. A passenger ignored the three warnings given by the flight crew to refrain from eating nuts on board. A little girl went in to anaphylactic shock and passed out because the nut particles were circulated throughout the aircraft by the air conditioning unit. She was revived with a pen injection, the airplane had to be diverted so the little girl could be taken to the hospital for immediate emergency medical attention.

What is the Penalty for consuming or serving peanuts?

Eating peanuts on airplanes would have to be a federal offense and therefore a felony because airplanes fly all over the world. It has to be a felony because, unlike smoking, there is no way to detect if passengers are actually eating nuts. Also, passengers need to understand the potential hazard to those with peanut allergies if they come in contact with or inhale nuts or its proteins.  I suggest that the passenger be arrested upon arrival at the next airport that the airplane lands.  Also, the offender must face mandatory fines as well as being prohibited from flying for at least a year.

I suggest that when the flight crew make an announcement that smoking is prohibited during the duration of the flight, that they also include nuts as well.

Prohibiting peanuts on planes is just like banning smoking. This may seem impossible but there was a time when smoking was allowed on airplanes and now they are not because someone took a stand. It is time we take a stand for those living with allergies.

I also suggest mandatory training for all the air travel personnel who come in day-to-day contact with persons with disabilities, to understand their needs and how they can be accommodated quickly, safely, and with dignity as outlined in the Air Carriers Act.

What are the Passengers responsibilities?

The Air Carriers Act also specifies the responsibilities of passenger and this should be amended as well to include the following:

1. 
   

   The passenger must notify the airline that they will be traveling

   
   


2. 
   

   The passenger must arrive early enough to pre board the plane so that they can wipe down their area, if they desire. This is still necessary to give the passenger with the allergy a peace of mine knowing that they cleaned the area of potential traces of peanuts and/or peanut related products.

   
   


3. 
   

   The passenger must have medication in the event they do start to have a reaction.

   
   

What’s next?

In 2010, the United States of Transportation presented the idea of prohibiting peanuts on planes. The Department of Transportation looked for feedback on the health risks that people with peanut allergies face if there was no change in the current policy and gave the public the opportunity to voice their opinion on the matter. Most of the comments they received was in favor of the ban. However and understandably so, peanut trade groups opposed the ban because it would affect their bottom line.

One of the reasons this measure failed was because of a law that prevented them from changing the peanut policy without more a scientific study:

"The Department is prohibited by law from restricting the serving of peanuts aboard aircraft unless a peer-reviewed study determines that serving of peanuts causes severe reactions among airline passengers. There has been no such peer-reviewed study, so we declined to take action at this time," (“Peanuts on planes protected by law”, cnn.com)

I propose that the Department of Transportation conduct a peer-reviewed study to prove peanut allergies are on the rise and show the extreme danger a person with peanut allergies face when flying. The findings must be presented to the government and changes to the current peanut policies has to be changed.