As of the first of this month, Southwest Airlines stopped serving peanuts on all flights, abandoning the snack that has been nearly synonymous with the carrier since its inception back in 1967.
The Dallas-based airline says it’s making the change “to help protect passengers who have severe peanut allergies.” Peanuts have always been the one snack perhaps most linked to the all-airline services. That’s especially true at Southwest Airlines, the world’s largest low-cost carrier, which has often used peanuts as part of its marketing strategy over several decades. “Nuts about Southwest” is just one example of one of their past slogans.
Southwest Airlines said “Although peanuts are very much a part of our Company’s heritage and have always been part of Southwest Airlines’ identity, it became clear after careful evaluation that the risks of serving peanuts outweigh the rewards. We hope that Customers who will miss our peanuts will enjoy our free pretzels and wonderful selection of snacks on longer flights.”
Southwest Airlines is trading in the peanuts in favor of more pretzels, and as a risk management and safety professional I commend them for their action. But as a person that has had three near-death allergic reactions to peanuts, I give them a standing ovation.
The move comes as awareness of peanut allergies has increased, especially in the context of the confined space of airplane cabin flying at 30,000 feet. For the 15 million Americans with food allergies, being safe on a flight requires far more than just a seatbelt, and airline carriers are finally recognizing this fact.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that four out of every 100 children have some type of food allergy and the Food and Drug Administration lists peanuts as one of the eight food types that account for 90 percent of all food allergies in the United States.
I am deathly allergic to peanuts and over the years throughout my adulthood have grown even more hypersensitive to my nut and peanut allergy. Personally, I can be around peanuts and the smell does irritate me, but I am not to the point where I have a reaction just from the smell.
But for some, even a small trace can cause major complications for those with the most extreme nut allergies.
As for me, I am more concerned with the cross-contamination exposure that these peanut packages have always presented. I have seen passengers and children open up the peanut packages on to their upright tray in front of them and watch them spill out. If I were to touch that tray or armrest with that leftover peanut residue and then rub my eyes, my eyes will swell shut. And if I touched my mouth and ingested any of it, I would go into anaphylactic shock.
Having such a reaction is like trying to breathe through a coffee stirrer after running for 30 minutes, and I can tell you the last place I would want to be is at 30,000 feet and 200 miles to the nearest hospital. On the ground I would call 911, but on a plane who would I call?
It’s the last thing a flight attendant and captain want to ever experience as well. In August of 2014, a 4-year-old Irish girl began to have a severe reaction during a United Airlines flight from Dublin, Ireland, to Newark, New Jersey. The pilot decided to turn the plane back to Dublin so she could get emergency treatment.
The girl had no history of food allergies and began reacting about two hours into the flight. Her mother said she had eaten a cashew. A fellow passenger told a media outlet that the girl’s face was highly swollen and she was in distress. The girl was given two epinephrine injections in flight and, once the plane landed, she was taken to hospital and fully recovered.
These types of incidents occur with more form of regularity. According to a World Allergy Organization Journal report, allergic reactions account for an estimated 2–4 percent of medical problems on board commercial airliners. Other publications report that allergic emergencies are responsible for 2.2 percent of all medical problems and result in 4.5 percent of aircraft diversions.
In an effort to address this, the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2010 decided to consider several options, including banning peanuts on flights for passengers requesting a “peanut-free” flight ahead of time or setting aside a “peanut-free buffer zone” near a passenger with peanut allergies.
The agency didn’t adopt such rules, but some airlines allow passengers with nut allergies to board early to wipe down seats, trays and armrests of any leftover peanut residue from previous flights.
As a risk control consultant I strongly believe that even more should be done. Today, there is isn’t any law in our country that requires airline carriers to carry these easy to use epinephrine auto-injectors or even train their flight attendants how to use them.
Consequently only a handful of carriers equip their planes with this life-saving device, and it is up to the individual airline carriers. The primary responsibility for having emergency epinephrine should still reside with the passenger, but having a “backup” auto-injector to an allergic person’s self-care, could be the difference between life and death.
I always carry an EpiPen when I travel, but some people are unaware that they or their child have become deathly allergic to a food substance until they are reacting at 30,000 feet. In this case if an airline didn’t carry extra epinephrine auto-injectors onboard, then somebody having an allergic reaction can only hope and pray that one of your fellow passengers may have one in their carry-on luggage.
In 2001 the Federal Aviation Administration issued a final rule requiring U.S. airlines to carry automated external defibrillators and enhanced emergency medical kits on all domestic and international flights.
Even though airlines carriers can stop serving nuts or peanuts, this doesn’t mean that a flight is a nut-free zone. Creating an airplane cabin free from allergens is an impossible task and no airline, no matter what steps they take to be accommodating, can guarantee the safety of a passenger with a severe food allergy.
Other passengers can still bring on their own nuts as snacks and passengers will not be able to stop that risk. As a result, passengers that have a severe nut or peanut allergy should use the following to reduce the risk of an in-flight reaction:
• Request special accommodations (e.g., peanut/tree nut snacks not be distributed, announcement to not eat items with peanut/tree nut, request special peanut/tree nut-free meal, buffer zone, pre-board, request to sit in a certain seat/zone).
• Research the airline carriers.
• Inform your airline that you have a nut allergy.
• Ask to pre-board so that you can wipe off tray tables, seat and arm rest with sanitary wipes.
• Avoid airline pillows or blankets.
• Request other passengers not to consume peanut/tree nut-containing products.
• Request to be moved to away from somebody that is eating nuts.
The peanut industry has long lobbied to keep peanuts at 30,000 feet. The American Peanut Council has been fighting and dismissing claims that allergic passengers should be treated with any special treatment. I understand that they are there to protect the interest of an entire industry, but I would say to the American Peanut Council, “If arsenic came in the form of snack packs and handed out in flight, would you still feel the same way?”
Be Safe, My Friends
Keven Moore works in risk management services and is an expert witness. He has a bachelor’s degree from University of Kentucky, a master’s from Eastern Kentucky University and 25-plus years of experience in the safety and insurance profession. He lives in Lexington with his family and works out of both the Lexington and Northern Kentucky offices. Keven can be reached at kmoore@roeding.com.
