Navigating Allergens on Airlines: Safety, Precautions, and Passenger Rights 

Air travel can often be stressful for individuals with food allergies. At Anaphylaxis UK, we recognise these challenges and aim to help passengers with food allergies and their families prepare for safe and enjoyable journeys. This guide explains your rights as a passenger and offers practical advice for both passengers and airlines. 

Understanding Your Rights When Flying With Allergies 

Under UK law and EU regulations, passengers with medical conditions, including food allergies, must not face discrimination. Airlines must make reasonable accommodations to support passengers with special requirements, and you cannot be denied travel because of a medical condition. 

However, without a standard airline policy for managing allergens, each airline sets its own rules. This can cause confusion and concern for people with food allergies, as the rules may vary between airlines and even between different flights if staff are not aware of the policy. 

To address this, airlines should have clear and accessible policies for managing food allergies and ensure that these policies are consistently applied by all airline staff. The allergy policy should be available for passengers to view before booking. If an airline does not meet reasonable requests or if discriminatory behaviour occurs, passengers can report it to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which ensures airlines follow safety and disability regulations. 

Recommendations for Passengers and Airlines to Mitigate Risks 

We recommend practical precautions and preparations to reduce the risk of allergic reactions during flights: 

1. Research the Policy: If you haven’t booked your flight yet, now is the perfect time to look at the different airline allergy policies. If you’ve already chosen your airline, it is still a good idea to review their policy. It’s also important to check that the airline you’re dealing with is the one actually operating the flight, as some are franchised out to different airlines. It will be easier to deal directly with the airline regarding their allergy policy. 

2. Communicate: 

• Check the airline’s policy to understand their requirements for informing them about your allergy. It’s common for passengers to worry about notifying airlines of their allergies, especially if they can’t get hold of the airline beforehand. If an airline states that they want to be notified in advance, ensure you follow that requirement. However, some airlines may advise they only need notifying on check in or when you board. If this is the case arrive early for your flight, so you have time to notify check-in staff or the cabin crew

• Inform airline staff of your food allergy at every opportunity: during check-in, when boarding, and before consuming any food provided by the airline. 

• If possible, get any special arrangements in writing. 

3. Accommodations Airlines Could Make:  

• Personal Food: Passengers should be allowed to bring their own food to avoid allergens in airline-provided meals or snacks. It’s impossible to guarantee that onboard meals are completely free from allergens due to human error and potential cross-contamination in the confined preparation areas of an aircraft. 
• Buffer Zones: Some airlines may create a ‘buffer zone’ where nearby passengers are asked to avoid eating specific allergens, like nuts. This can reassure passengers with food allergies and reduce their anxiety by lowering the risk of direct contact with allergens. However, more research is needed to confirm their effectiveness, and buffer zones do not eliminate all risks, such as those from shared spaces like bathrooms. Therefore, they should not create a false sense of security. 
• Announcements: Airlines could make an announcement once everyone has boarded the plane to inform passengers that someone on board has a severe allergy to specific allergens. This can help ensure that fellow passengers are aware and can take appropriate precautions to minimise risks, such as refraining from consuming the allergen during the flight.
• Pre-Boarding Cleaning: Individuals with allergies or their travel partners could be allowed to board early to clean their seating area, including tray tables, armrests, and entertainment systems, to remove potential allergen residues. The U.S. Department of Transportation already requires airlines to permit this if requested. Airlines could provide non-latex gloves and wipes for this purpose, but it’s best to bring your own wipes in case the airline doesn’t provide them. Some people may prefer to board last so that everyone has settled and is listening when the announcement is made.

4. Pick a Time: Choosing a particular time of day may lower your chances of coming into contact with contaminated surfaces. Since aeroplanes are usually cleaned overnight, a morning flight may be a better option, particularly if you have a nut allergy. If you have a milk or egg allergy, a flight outside of breakfast hours may be more suitable. 

5. Book Your Seats: Make sure you are seated with the people you are travelling with so that you know they won’t be consuming your allergen on the flight. 

6. Medication: 

• Ensure your allergy medication has not expired and that you have an up-to-date allergy action plan. 

• Passengers at risk of anaphylaxis should carry their prescribed adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) at all times, ensuring they are accessible in their hand luggage and never placed in the hold. 

• Airlines are not universally required to stock AAIs in their flight medical kits, and regulations vary by country and airline. The Civil Aviation Authority requires commercial aircraft to carry medical kits that include adrenaline in ampoules form which can be administered in emergencies. Some airlines may stock general-use AAIs in their onboard medical kits, however if you have concerns about this you should check with the airline in advance to understand their medical kit concerns. 

• In some cases, you may be asked for documentation for the medicine you are travelling with. All brands of adrenaline auto-injector (AAI) have Travel Certificates available on their website.  You can find more information here. 

• If you do have a reaction, use your AAI as soon as symptoms start and inform the flight crew immediately. If possible, lie down, but avoid standing up or any unnecessary physical activity. 

• Wearing a medical alert bracelet can help others quickly identify your allergy. 

7. Organise Travel Insurance: Make sure your allergy is covered in your travel insurance to avoid any issues with claims. 

8. Early Arrival: Arrive early for your flight to allow yourself plenty of time to reconfirm any requests for specific seating or early boarding. 

9. Always Be Cautious: Passengers might bring their own snacks containing allergens, or allergen residues could remain on surfaces from previous flights. Even if an announcement is made to request passengers not to eat something, take precautions such as wiping down seats and tray tables, and washing your hands after using shared spaces like bathrooms. 

10. Stay Calm: Studies show that allergic reactions to airborne allergens on aeroplanes, like nut proteins, are rare. Modern aircraft use high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters that effectively remove airborne contaminants, including allergens. The primary risk comes from cross-contact on surfaces or consuming food you are allergic to, rather than from the air system. Therefore, strategies like the ones above can be used to reduce the risk of allergic reactions. 

You can read more about this and your risk of anaphylaxis on a flight in a recent review. 

Check out our Travelling with Allergies Factsheet for more useful tips. 

At Anaphylaxis UK, we promote practical, evidence-based ways to manage food allergy risks. With clear and consistent instructions, airlines and passengers can improve safety and comfort for those with serious allergies. Although airlines should try to accommodate you, their policies for managing allergies vary, so some staff might not know what to do or seem unhelpful. Stay calm, offer advice on how they can assist you, and remember that not all airlines will handle accommodations in the same way, so make sure to check the policy before booking  

By working together, we can reduce risks and make air travel easier and safer for those with food allergies.