The Canadian Transportation Agency has ruled that passengers who have nut allergies should be considered disabled and accommodated by the airline. The CTA has advised Air Canada to come up with an appropriate section of seats where passengers with nut allergies would be seated.

“It is clear from the evidence that there is a need for a formal policy to accommodate persons with disabilities due to their allergy to peanuts or nuts,” the agency said in its ruling. “Such a policy would remove the uncertainty that an individual experiences each and every time they travel, mitigating the risk that they will be exposed to an allergen with the possibility of experiencing serious consequences as a result.”

The CTA added that it “has determined that the appropriate accommodation for persons with disabilities due to their allergy to peanuts or nuts, when advance notice is provided, is to be seated in a buffer zone,” including an announcement to the other passengers within that zone.

However, even though nut-allergics will be pleased by the recognition of their allergy as a disability, many will feel that the ruling does not go far enough and that all nuts should be banned from all flights.

Although this ruling only applies to Air Canada, it is likely that other airlines will soon follow suit.

First published in January 2010

If you found this article interesting, you will find many more articles on peanut and tree-nut allergy here, and reports of research into the conditions here.
You can also find articles on anaphylaxis here, cow's milk allergies here, egg allergy here, histamine intolerance here and articles on a wide range of other allergic and intolerance reactions to a wide range of other foods here.

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