Passengers with Allergies

The FAA has provided information to travelers answering some frequently asked questions:

What types of allergen sensitivities generate the greatest concerns for airline passengers?

The two types of allergies that appear to generate the greatest passenger concerns on commercial aircraft are sensitivities to peanuts and animal allergens. People who are severely allergic to these substances (or parents of children who are severely allergic to these substances) are typically very responsible at monitoring their environment to avoid exposure and taking appropriate action if symptoms from exposure occur. For those people, the unique environment of an airplane passenger cabin can present certain challenges.

What can I do to prepare for my flight if I am a passenger who is severely allergic to peanuts?

If you or your child has an allergy to peanuts, contact your allergist/physician before your trip to discuss travel-related risks and ask if you should carry medications with you. Treatment of peanut allergy typically consists of avoiding accidental ingestion of peanuts and recognizing and managing early symptoms of an allergic reaction. In the case of life-threatening allergies to peanuts, your doctor may advise you to carry an epinephrine auto-injector and oral liquid diphenhydramine to immediately and aggressively treat a reaction. If you choose to carry an epinephrine auto-injector, make sure that you have a professionally printed pharmacy label with 
 the device to satisfy the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) airport security requirements. If a reaction should occur during the flight, follow your doctor’s treatment instructions. If necessary, ask a flight attendant for assistance. 
  
There are some airlines that do not serve peanut snacks and there are some airlines that are willing to accommodate your request to serve a non-peanut snack on your flight. You can also carry peanut-free food with you. You should call an airline’s reservation number to get specific information about that airline. Even if no peanuts are served on your flight, however, no airline can guarantee a peanut-free flight. There may be peanut ingredients in the meal or other passengers 
 may carry peanuts onto the airplane with them. If you or your child is contact-sensitive to peanuts, consider wiping down the surfaces immediately surrounding your seat (such as tray table and armrests) with a disposable wipe and inspecting the floor and seat area for peanut residue from previous flights. 
  
The Aerospace Medical Education Division of the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute maintains a website with information regarding passenger health and safety, as well as helpful links to other websites that contain information on this subject.

What can I do to prepare for my flight if I am a passenger who is severely allergic to animal dander?

If you suffer from allergies to animals, you should check with your physician before your trip to discuss travel-related risks and ask if you should carry medications with you (such as an inhaler or oral medications). In the case of life-threatening allergic reactions, your doctor may advise you to carry an epinephrine auto-injector in order to immediately and aggressively treat an anaphylactic reaction. If you choose to carry an epinephrine auto-injector, make sure that you have a professionally printed pharmacy label with the device to satisfy TSA airport security requirements. If a reaction should occur during the flight, follow your doctor’s treatment instructions. If necessary, ask a flight attendant for assistance. 
  
You can reduce the chance that there will be an animal in the cabin on your flight. You can fly on an airline that does not allow pets in the cabin. You can ask the reservations agent for your airline if another passenger on the same flight has made reservations to travel with a pet.
  
You will, however, still be exposed to animal dander on every flight even without any animals in the passenger cabin. This is because most animal allergens are carried into the cabin on the clothes of other passengers. 

In addition, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has rules that require airlines to allow passengers to fly with their service animals in the cabin on all U.S. airlines.  Service animals are not pets. They are working animals that assist persons with disabilities. There is no limit to the number of service animals that can be on any flight.