US: Boarding now: Parents of children with food allergies
A recent government ruling may transform air travel for passengers with life-threatening food allergies by extending to them the protections afforded other individuals with disabilities. In September 2016, gate agents for American Airlines refused Nicole Mackenzie’s request to preboard a flight from Portland, Ore., to Charlotte, N.C., to clean the area around the seat assigned to her seven-year-old daughter, who has life-threatening nut and seed allergies. The family filed a formal complaint with the federal DoT. Regulators determined last month that American Airlines had violated the Air Carrier Access Act — roughly the equivalent of the Americans With Disabilities Act, but applicable to the airlines. The DoT considers severe allergies a disability under the act if they impact a passenger’s ability to breathe or “substantially impact another major life activity.” “This changes the entire landscape for the food-allergy flier,” said Lianne Mandelbaum, who has a son with a severe food allergy and writes a blog about food allergies and travel. “Until now, food-allergy passengers’ safety was beholden to the mood of a particular flight crew,” Mandelbaum added. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2019-06-20/general/us-boarding-now-parents-of-children-with-food-allergies
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US: Boarding now: Parents of children with food allergies
A recent government ruling may transform air travel for passengers with life-threatening food allergies by extending to them the protections afforded other individuals with disabilities. In September 2016, gate agents for American Airlines refused Nicole Mackenzie’s request to preboard a flight from Portland, Ore., to Charlotte, N.C., to clean the area around the seat assigned to her seven-year-old daughter, who has life-threatening nut and seed allergies. The family filed a formal complaint with the federal DoT. Regulators determined last month that American Airlines had violated the Air Carrier Access Act — roughly the equivalent of the Americans With Disabilities Act, but applicable to the airlines. The DoT considers severe allergies a disability under the act if they impact a passenger’s ability to breathe or “substantially impact another major life activity.” “This changes the entire landscape for the food-allergy flier,” said Lianne Mandelbaum, who has a son with a severe food allergy and writes a blog about food allergies and travel. “Until now, food-allergy passengers’ safety was beholden to the mood of a particular flight crew,” Mandelbaum added. <br/>
