Peanut Free Flights – How to Fly Safely with a Peanut Allergy
My family likes to vacation and our plans mostly revolve around destinations that we can easily drive to. Though last year we decided to travel to a few destinations that required a flight to get there. I went into preparation mode and called airlines, researched their websites and looked for any information that I could about having a peanut free flight.
What I learned is that a lot of airlines are slowly making changes and they are doing what they can to make a flight safe for a peanut allergy customer, but most of them (if not all) could not guarantee a peanut free flight.
The latest airline that has caught my attention was JetBlue. While we didn’t fly JetBlue, I was very excited to see their recent announcement of partnering with Skeeter Snacks to offer nut-free snacks on board of their aircraft.
While this is great news, it still doesn’t help a peanut allergy family rest easy when other passengers are bringing peanut snacks onto the plane.
I know this is out of my control and it’s my choice to fly.
We chose to fly Southwest airlines, mainly because cost was a big factor in our decision of what airline to choose. While Southwest airlines doesn’t offer a peanut free flight, they do take extra precautions to help keep their passengers safe.
I know it’s scary to fly with a peanut allergy, it was terrifying for us as we have never done it before. But with much research, we were able to make our flight with a peanut allergy child without any problems or reactions.
Here are a few tips that I would recommend when flying with a peanut allergy:
- Call each airline that will fly into your destination and check into their peanut allergy protocols. I found that airlines are understanding and are very helpful with giving you the information that you need to make an educated decision.
- Ask the airlines if they offer a peanut-free “Buffer Zone”. Southwest airlines didn’t offer this on our flights, in 2013, but some airlines do provide a peanut-free safe zone.
- If possible, choose a flight that is early in the morning. This will give you less risk of being exposed to peanuts. Flight attendants clean the cabins each night, making it much cleaner then flying after a full day of passengers coming in and out of the cabin with their snacks.
- Call the airlines, after booking and 24 hours before your flight, and make sure that they have a documented note on your ticket about the peanut allergy.
- When you get through security, check in with the boarding desk and confirm that the documentation is there about a peanut allergy.
- Southwest airlines, and other airlines as well, will give you a pre boarding pass for your peanut allergy disability. Board the plane before others and wipe down your seat, the arm rests, the window, the pull down tray and the wall with Clorox wipes.
- Bring your own snacks and make sure all medications are packed onto your carry on bags.
- If needed, consider bringing a neck pillow of your own so you can avoid using the pillows and blankets from the airline.
- If you are sitting near other passengers in the same row, don’t be afraid to tell them about your peanut allergy.
Here are some quick links from airlines about their peanut allergy accommodations:
- Click on Peanut Dust Allergies from the Left Menu : Southwest Airlines – Unique Travel Needs
- Delta Airlines Peanut Allergy Policy
- JetBlue Peanut Allergy Policy
- Air Canada Peanut Allergy Policy
- United Airlines Nut Allergy Policy
- US Airways / American Airlines Peanut Allergy Policy
You’re a fucking douche bag, “wear a mask” why don’t you wear a fucking mask you ugly piece of shit. You think people sign up for food allergies at birth? You sound lazy if you can’t accommodate to someone else’s needs.
what are some restraunts that kids can eat at that are peanut and tree nut free
I always fly southwest with my son and have had great experiences. There will always be bad ones too. So sorry to hear about that rude comment, I know it’s hurtful :( Thank you for sharing your experience!
My son is very allergic to peanuts and we fly SouthWest. Prior to flights I do call and let customer service know our flight info so that precautions can be made. They are suppose to wipe down & sweep the cabin of the plane for nuts prior to boarding when the staff is aware that a person with peanut allergies will be boarding. I can’t verify whether they do or not since obviously we can’t see them do it, but it sounds good and I’ve never spotted any nuts lying around. They also don’t serve peanuts on that flight and opt for pretzels (even though they are made in a factory with nuts) and/or and alternative snack. We always get the privilege to board first with a disability boarding pass so I can choose where I want my son to sit (usually by the window), since the airline states they can’t keep passengers from bringing their own nuts on the plane. This gives me time to wipe down the area with lysol wipes where my son will be sitting and get him situated before everyone else boards. This does not completely eliminate risks, it has worked for us so far until the airlines can provide something better.
I will say I did have one negative experience with a flight crew, where they seemed rather irritated that they had to make adjustments for us. The stuartist announced they they wouldn’t be serving peanuts because there was someone on the plane who had allergies. This naturally pissed some people off. I heard a lady behind us making rude & ugly remarks, not knowing my son was the allergic one. Usually they just serve the substitute and no one seems to ever question it, but sometimes you do run into people who have an issue with making accommodations.
You should be taking responsibility for your child’s allergies, not expect everybody else to accommodate you. Peanuts and other nut proteins linger on clothing, skin and furnishings, how can you reasonably expect to enter an aircraft and not have a high likelihood of exposure? In your own home sure, but without testing every person’s clothing, you are at the whim of chance. I suggest making your child a mask that filters out these proteins, and wear that if you have to fly.
Thank you, Amanda! We are nervous wrecks about flying!
Hi Ashley! Yes, you can bring wipes through security. We notified the airline beforehand and they let us on before everyone else to wipe down the seats. Our first time was very terrifying, but you should be able to fly safely :)
That was supposed to say Clorox* wipes.
We are about to fly in September with our 3-year old with a severe peanut allergy. Frontier doesn’t serve nuts on their flight but we are still terrified. Can we bring Cloris Wipes through the security gate? Also, I wonder if wearing a small mask would help alleviate breathing in particles? I’m so scared about this, we may consider not going.
Thanks for the helpful tips! We have yet to fly with my 5 year old with multiple food allergies. He’s allergic to peanuts, but I also worry about his dairy, eggs, tree nuts and sesame food allergies. When we fly with him we’ll have to do a lot of preparation and of course say a lot of prayers!
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Great reference! Thanks for putting it all together!
We don’t have any peanut allergies in our house, but your post really opened my eyes to the struggles that those with peanut allergies have. I never once considered the difficulties for those when flying. Really they should all go nut free….I mean, I like nuts, but do I really have to have them on my flight? Oh and I just recently tried those Skeeter snacks (cookies) and they are so good!
What a great post! I am also surprised that more airlines don’t offer nut free options, they tend to try to accommodate so many different diet restrictions.
So important to be aware. This will be so helpful for other allergy moms!
Wow, that must have been pretty terrifying to fly knowing it wasn’t a peanut free plane! I am happy to know that flights are starting to accommodate people with allergies – hopefully there ARE some peanut free flights soon!
I am surprised that all airlines don’t offer nut free snacks on all flights. I am glad you found some ways to make it safe for your whole family to fly.