Risky Business
For those with severe allergies to food, airplane travel can be
dicey, as it was three years ago for Ann Thompson, of Chicago,
and her son, Andrew, on a flight to Orlando. Concerned about
Andrew’s safety, given his severe peanut allergy, Thompson
called ahead to ask about the availability of peanut-free flights.
She was assured that the flight she had booked was, in fact, free
of peanuts. Before boarding, she asked again and was again
assured of its peanut-free status. After boarding, Thompson
wiped down every tray table and arm rest near her son’s seat
and then covered his seat with a blanket she had brought from
home. So far, so good.
Shortly after take off, Thompson says, “I smelled
something like someone had opened a jar of peanut butter.”
She wasn’t mistaken. The meal being served on the flight was
chicken breast with peanut
sauce.
“When Andrew told
me his throat felt itchy
inside, I knew we were in
trouble,” she says. As soon
as the plane landed,
Andrew, then 7, was taken
by ambulance to the
emergency room.
Fortunately, the boy
recovered, but Thompson
hasn’t traveled by plane
since. The family recently
took trips to Florida and
Colorado – by car.
On the other hand,
Kristin Kamon Miller and
her severely allergic daughter, |
Mikayla, had a pleasant experience on their 4-hour flight
from Chicago to Portland. Mikayla is allergic to peanut, tree nuts, shellfish, egg, sesame
and banana. After booking her flight, a customer service
representative from American Airlines called Kamon Miller to
ask if her daughter reacted to inhaled allergens. (She doesn’t.)
The American rep then rearranged their seats, issued preboarding
passes and suggested Kamon Miller bring a blanket
from home for her daughter to sit on and that she wipe down
everything — tray tables, etc. — once she was on board.
“That’s something I would’ve done anyway, but it sure was
nice when she suggested it. It showed me that this person, this
airline, understood the potential danger of my daughter’s
allergies,” Kamon Miller says, who adds that the flight
attendants couldn’t have been more accommodating. Their
flights there and back were uneventful.
Flight attendants are trained in basic first aid, and the
medical kit on board every flight contains benadryl, an
antihistamine used to treat allergic reaction. The kit does not
include an Epi-pen. The airlines have a procedure for onboard
medical emergencies, including anaphylaxis. Flight
attendants first ask if there is a doctor on board. Then they
consult the airline’s on-call doctor, located on the ground, by
phone. |
