Traveling with celiac and food allergies? Also, list of airlines that don’t serve individual packages or bags of peanuts.

Traveling with food allergies

The following is a list that includes only those airlines that do not serve packaged peanuts (i.e., peanuts are the only ingredient) in coach class. Please note that some airlines may still serve peanuts in first or business class even if they don’t in coach. For example, many airlines sell snack items (e.g., trail mix, candy bars) in business and first class that contain peanuts as an ingredient and/or snack items that include a “may contain” advisory warning on the label.

NO package peanuts flights: Air Canada, Air Tran, American, Continental, Frontier, Jet Blue, Midwest, United, US Airways.

Latest News: Delta airlines announced that if you contact them 72 hours before the flight they will not serve peanut products on your flight, but keep in mind that no matter what they say or how much they try to accommodate your request, NO airline will ever give you a guaranteed peanut- or tree nut-free flight. Therefore, the most important strategy for avoiding reactions while flying is:DO NOT EAT AIRLINE MEALS OR SNACKS!

Good to know: A great information source to find additional details about international airlines, is FAAN (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis network) which can be contacted by e-mail at: advocacy@foodallergy.org. According to travel tips provided by FAAN , as long as a passenger with peanut allergy does not eat these products or come into very close contact with them, the risk of reaction from skin contact or inhalation will be minimized. They also say, that many other variable can increase the chances for an anaphylactic reaction such as how many people are eating peanuts on a flight and their proximity to the allergic individual.

Many airlines are offering “buffer zones” around the passenger; some will serve a non-peanut snack on a particular flight if notified in advance; some airlines have discontinued the serving of peanuts altogether. However, according to some published case studies, it would require more than just a few people on an aircraft eating peanuts to generally cause an airborne reaction. As mentioned before, case studies also state that when proper precautions are taken, the probability of an airborne reaction to peanut while on a plane is greatly reduced. However, remember that a reaction is always a possibility and a medical plan should always be in place to be prepared in case of an emergency if you suspect that a reaction is occurring.

Travel Tips Summary:

1. Research the Airline: Before booking your flight, read the airline’s allergy policy. Many airlines post their policy on their website.
2. Check the Airline’s Snack Offerings: If you have peanut allergies, try to choose an airline that does not serve complimentary peanut/tree nut snacks. Call them at least 72 hours in advance and ask if will serve a non-peanut/tree nut snack, such as pretzels, upon advance request. This will greatly decrease the risk of exposure to peanuts/tree nuts during the flight. Keep in mind that no airline will ever give you a guaranteed peanut- or tree nut-free flight.
3. Notify the Airline of Your Food Allergy: When booking your flight, notify the reservation agent of your food allergy, and ask if your information can be forwarded to other personnel such as the gate agent, catering/food service, and flight crew. Call again before the flight to remind the airlines about your food allergy also call travel agency booking agent if you didn’t do the reservation directly with the airline.
4. Understand Policies for Carrying Medication on Board the Aircraft: For security purposes, keep your epinephrine/adrenaline in its original packaging and a copy of your emergency plan with your medication. It is also recommended that you have your epinephrine prescription, and a travel plan or letter from your doctor confirming your food allergy and indicating you need to carry your medication and food/drinks with you.
5. Alert ID and access to Epipen: Wearing a medical alert identification indicating your allergies and carrying the Epinephrine ON you is a must.
6. Inspect Your Seating Area: Ask the gate agent if you may pre-board. Explain that you need to inspect and clean your seating area.
7. Airplane Sitting Area after boarding airplane: Wipe down the seat to help prevent contact reactions or inadvertent cross contamination like skin contact with food particles or spills. Why? As you might know, eating food off a contaminated surface area could lead to accidental ingestion of allergens through cross-contact. Because some airlines are cleaned at the end of each day, it is advised to choose early morning flights, where the chance of seats containing food residues and/or crumbs or food is minimized.
8. Pack a snack and stay away from inflight food: It is safer not to eat airline food. Instead, only eat food that you packed. Just in case, prior to the travel day, contact the airline and find out if there are any restrictions as to which types of food you are allowed to bring on board, which may vary according to your destination.
9. Keep Your Epinephrine With You: Once again, always keep your epinephrine/adrenaline with you and do not store it in the overhead bin. Don’t be ashamed of letting others you’re traveling with know about your allergies so they know what to do in case of an emergency on the flight and where your auto-injector is.
10. Wear a medical mask: I couldn’t find any third party research or medical organization recommending to wear a medical mask, but in numerous blogs, tweets and from personal experience this is an easy extra step to take.

From a mothers perspective: Few years ago I was on a flight to Spain with our son who is allergic to various foods including peanuts. Since the flight is 8 hours long, I decided to book the tickets with American Airlines (even though the price was almost twice the cost of Iberia) because they assure me that no peanuts would be serve on the flight. What I didn’t expect was to find so many passengers on the flight eating peanuts who no matter how nicely or “hysterical” I sounded when asking them not to eat the peanuts, they decided to ignore my plead. After dinner was served we could hear people opening their bags and eating snacks. It only took few minutes for our son to start sneezing and coughing like he had a bad cold. I immediately gave him quite a large amount of liquid Benadryl and a medical which to my surprise, he didn’t hesitate on putting it on. Between the food smells and the perfumes many started covering their faces and quite a few also had masks.

I pray for the rest of the trip, and thank God nothing happened. Don’t know if: The sneezing and coughing was provoked by people eating the peanuts or was it something else? Maybe the airborne allergens were not enough to cause a bad reaction? or, the Benadryl with the medical mask was what worked? Regardless, every time we go on a flight we pack few medical masks. They don’t take much space and since more and more doctors are recommending their use on flights as a precaution to reduce the chances of getting one of the new “world viruses” , there is nothing to loose by packing them in your carry-on bags.

BOTTOM LINE, ALWAYS BE PREPARED:

Call the airlines and tell them about the food allergies. Once you arrive at the airport, tell the agents on the gate and once again the flight attendants once you get on the plane. Don’t be shy and ask the attendants to make an announcement to the passengers requesting for everyone to refrain from eating peanuts. To help you with this last task, think that you are doing this not only for you or your kid but you are helping “spread the word and educate” about food allergies.

Most importantly, only eat foods that you packed, especially when you are getting on a plane where you will be in the air away from access to medical help, and don’t forget to carry the Epipen ON you at ALL times.

God Bless,

Marlena

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